


The Ghost that Lives in Great Uncle Ford's Basment

by orphan_account



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Ghost Stan AU, Injury, Suicidal Ideation, Time Travel, don't be fooled it progressively gets angstier, technically?? let me know if i should tag as something else???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-07-28 15:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7647034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper and Mabel have been sent of to their Great Uncle Ford's house for part of the summer. Unfortunately for Mabel, her Great Uncle is a very paranoid man, so her hopes of making new friends in Gravity Falls is looking rather unlikely. However, if she can't make friends outside the house, she'll have to make do with making friends inside the house. Thankfully there's a friendly- but oddly familiar- ghost living there!<br/>(An AU in which Stan died before returning to Gravity Falls, so Ford was never pushed into the portal. Tags to be added.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Mabel and Dipper were twelve, their parents had them go spend the first month of summer at their Great Uncle Ford’s home in the sleepy town of Gravity Falls. The twins had met their Great Uncle a couple of times before. He had been weird. At least, in Mabel’s opinion. He always seemed kind of on edge, always scanning the room anxiously at any family reunion or holiday he had attended, and he rarely spoke to anyone with more than small talk. Except for Shermie and, surprisingly, Dipper. For some reason, the two of them hit it off fast. Probably because they were both nerds, and Grunkle Ford was the only person Mabel had ever met who could actually play Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons with Dipper without dying of boredom once the graph paper came out. Even their parents, who tried to be supportive in their kids’ interests, often conveniently found housework to do or an errand to run once Dipper brought the game box out. It was nice to see someone being so nice to Dipper at least.

Mabel had looked forward to spending some of the summer at Grunkle Ford’s house. Though she had never been that close to him, she was sure he must have something interesting up his sleeve. Or maybe in his six-fingered gloves. Who knew? Either way, she prepared for the summer with high hopes.

And, unfortunately, that high hope wasn’t met with much.

Grunkle Ford was an incredibly paranoid man. Everyone was surprised that he had even allowed the kids to stay with him. Apparently, it was only through their grandpa’s suggestion that some quality time with the kids would be good for him that he had reluctantly agreed. And even then, he only agreed to it under the condition that they’d only be staying for a month. Grunkle Ford had argued that Gravity Falls was simply not a safe place- for anyone, really, but especially kids. However, from what everyone else could tell, Gravity Falls was just some quiet, rural country town in the middle of the woods. The most anyone had to worry about was graffiti from teenagers and the occasional goat eating your stuff. So off they were sent to spend the first month of summer- and hopefully get their Great Uncle to lighten up a little bit.

However, their presence didn’t seem to help his paranoia at all. In fact, it seemed to make things worse. Grunkle Ford kept the house locked up at all times, and informed the kids that it was the only completely safe place in town. He also told them that they were not allowed to go outside, go into town… do basically anything outside of the house unless he was accompanying them. The twins could tell that he wasn’t implementing all of these rules to be mean; no, they could see the genuine worry and concern on his face. He was just trying to keep them safe. But what was he trying to keep them safe from? He wouldn’t tell them. Was whatever it was even real?

Despite that, living with their Grunkle Ford wasn’t terrible. In fact, it could be fun sometimes. Apparently Grunkle Ford spent his time in Gravity Falls studying anomalies. He even let Dipepr and Mabel see some of them, like the weird gnomes in the forest. He also played Dungeons, Dungeons and Dungeons with Dipper, and Mabel was happy to watch the two of them enjoy themselves while she did something infinitely more interesting. And sometimes, when Grunkle Ford was exceptionally exhausted, he was happy to sit on the couch and watch some mindless T.V. show while Mabel sat on his lap and played with his six fingered hands.

Still, staying with Grunkle Ford was still a bit… lonely. Mabel was hoping that she’d be able to make some friends or maybe even have a romance this summer, but Grunkle Ford hardly ever let her leave the house, let alone mingle with other children. Dipper didn’t seem to mind the isolation as much, however. He had had a thing for this girl named Wendy when he had first laid eyes on her, but after she had been sent off to a cousin’s logging camp for the summer, he seemed happy to spend time with Grunkle Ford trying to get over the heartbreak. That, and though Grunkle Ford did his best to spend time with both of them, it was clear he liked Dipper more. Dipper was just… smarter, and more into his weird nerd stuff. He was more inclined to take Dipper when they went out to investigate safer anomalies, and he often seemed reluctant to take Mabel, whose silliness seemed to annoy him a little.

After about a week Mabel found that she was… bored. And honestly, she was looking forward to going home. Usually she was an optimist, but with little to no social interaction in a creepy cabin filled with strange and ominous artifacts, Mabel felt like she was suffocating.

Currently, Mabel was sitting on the floor of her and Dipper’s combined bedroom, knitting herself a new sweater. If there was anything good about all this free time, it was that she had accumulated a ton of custom sweaters from it. June wasn’t even half over and she had already made five of them! At least that was sort of entertaining. Dipper and Grunkle Ford had left a while ago, apparently to check out some UFO or something. Normally, Mabel would be interested in going with; even if she wasn’t interested in nerdy stuff, going on an adventure with Dipper was always fun! It’s just that… last time she went, Grunkle Ford had spent the whole time chatting it up with Dipper, and seemed to get annoyed anytime she tried to get in the conversation. Sure, maybe she didn’t have “intelligent input” to add to the conversation, but was a joke or two to lighten the mood really so bad? She had begun to wonder why she had even been invited. She knew they weren’t leaving her out on purpose, and she knew she should be happy to see her awkward brother and her reclusive Great Uncle socializing but she couldn’t help but feel a little left out. Today, she had stayed behind on her own accord. Grunkle Ford’s house was the safest place in Gravity Falls, and this way Dipper and Grunkle Ford could spend time together without her feeling like a third wheel. It’d be good for all of them. Probably.

Her train of thought was interrupted when her stomach growled. Knitting was hard work; she determined she deserved a break. She got up and headed down the creaky stairs to the kitchen. Maybe she could have an ice cream sandwich for lunch? It wasn’t like Grunkle Ford or her parents were there to tell her not to.

When Mabel reached the bottom of the stairs she stopped when she heard a strange sound coming from the living room. It sounded like… talking? It couldn’t be Grunkle Ford; the voice sounded much scruffier than his, and it was far too deep to be Dipper. But who else could it be? Surely no one had come in! Grunkle Ford always made sure to lock all of the doors and windows before even stepping a foot outside so there was no way someone could have gotten in... right?

Mabel knew she should return upstairs and wait in her room and stay out of sight until Grunkle Ford got home, just like he instructed her to do should anything go wrong. But her curiosity got the best of her. Besides, this couldn’t be the thing Ford had been protecting the house against, right? He had only put up five thousand different things to keep it from getting inside.

Mabel tiptoed inside the room, and found a man sitting in Grunkle Ford’s armchair. He was a younger man, probably in his late twenties, and he had a mullet. He was wearing a thick red coat despite the summer heat, and he was gazing at the T.V., complaining about the static that now shone on it.

“Can’t believe it. Idiot leaves the T.V. on for once and doesn’t even leave it on a watchable channel…” He muttered. “If you’re so paranoid, just turn it off, will ya?”

Mabel tiptoed closer. There was something strange about this man, other than the fact that he had somehow gotten into the house. He seemed to be emitting a strange blue light from all over his body, and if she looked closely enough, she could see the material of the armchair through him.

Mabel gasped and nearly stumbled back at the sight of it. She knew what this was. She had seen such things in spooky Halloween movies and books. This was… a ghost!

The sound of her gasp alerted the specter’s attention, and he quickly turned to look at her with wide eyes. Despite that, he said nothing. Was he… waiting for her to talk? Mabel felt like she should run, but something about this ghost seemed… friendly? Trustworthy? She felt like she knew him somehow. Regardless, he didn’t have blood coming out of his eyes or cuts and gore all over his body like the evil ones in movies tended to. Maybe she could trust this ghost enough to at least talk to him?

“Are you… um…” Mabel hated how shaky her voice sounded, but she couldn’t help it. None of the anomalies she had met in Gravity Falls thus far were this unsettling. “A ghost?”

The ghost stared back at her, then looked behind him, as if making sure she wasn’t talking to some unseen third person. He finally put his attention back on her, and asked:

“Whoa, Mabel, can you see me?” His voice was much softer when he talked to her, almost comforting. It was almost familiar, as if she had heard this person talk before, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Of course I can see you.” She replied. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh. Well, uh…” The ghost hesitated. “You had a sweater that says it. It’s all purple and lights up and stuff! Can’t imagine you’d make something like that with someone else’s name on it.”

“I guess that’s true.” She replied. This ghost was shockingly casual. She had expected him to say some long-winded curse or something the moment she spoke to him. Maybe he really was friendly. “You look kinda familiar.”

“Ah… do I?” He asked nervously.

“Mm-hmm. You kinda look my Great Uncle Ford. Or what I guess he would’ve looked like half a century ago. He doesn’t keep pictures, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Oh, he keeps a few. But he usually hides ‘em. Thinks they’re watching him or something. It’s sad, really.”

“Oh.” Somehow, that wasn’t surprising to hear, seeing how paranoid her Great Uncle was. “How do you know that? Hey, are you the thing that’s been watching him or whatever? You’re really scaring him! You should stop!”

“Nah, kiddo, I’m not the thing that’s causing that. Your Great Uncle doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“How do you know? He deals with a lot of spooky stuff all the time.”

“Believe me, I know.” The ghost said bitterly. “He hasn’t spoken a word to me or even looked at me in the thirty years I’ve been here!”

“Thirty years? You must be so bored!”

“Eh, could be worse.” He shrugged. “If he did know I was here, he’d probably exorcise me or whatever.”

“But still, thirty years! I’ve been here for like a week and I already feel bored to death!” She gasped and covered her mouth. “No offense.”

“Ha! That’s a good one!” The ghost laughed. Mabel immediately felt a wave of relief at the laughter, and found herself smiling, too.

“Wow… that’s a really long time. Why have you hung around this place for so long?”

“I’d leave and go out to town if I could, but…” He floated out of the chair and towards the wall. He tried to phase through, but before he could even get a whole arm through, he was immediately pushed back and sent sprawling towards the ground. “See? Can’t leave. Dunno why.”

“Did you…” Mabel gulped. “Did you die here? I mean… sometimes in movies and books and stuff ghosts kinda just hang around where they die, y’know?”

“Oh I know.” The ghost said, returning to his place on the armchair. “And yeah, I died here. Well, I died _near_ here, so I don’t know why I’m stuck inside.”

“Hmm…” Mabel placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought. “Maybe I could help you find a way to move on or whatever?”

“Eh… nah.” The ghost said dismissively. “I appreciate it, but I still have unfinished business to attend to.”

“And what’s that?”

“That’s something I get to know, and you get to probably never find out.”

“What? Come on!” Mabel pouted. The ghost glared right back, clearly showing no sign of changing his mind. Mabel continued glaring, but knew there was no way she could win a staring contest against a dead man. She gave up with a sigh. “Fine, keep it a secret. But can you at least tell me your name?”

“My name? Why would you wanna know that?”

“Well, you live here. And if I’m gonna be here for the next two and a half weeks, I might as well know everyone.” She approached the armchair and hopped onto one of its arms, like she always did with Grunkle Ford. “Plus, you look like you could use a friend. Right?”

The ghost looked at her awkwardly, clearly considering her words. He hesitated for a moment before finally smiling at her softly.

“Shoot, I guess I can’t say no to that. The name’s Stan.”

“Stan?” She eyed him curiously. “You sure you’re not related to my Grunkle in some way?”

“Hey, don’t give me that look! Stan’s a common name!”

“Well, Stan. It’s nice to meet you.” Mabel said, holding out her hand.

“Pleasure’s all mine.” Stan reached his hand out too, but it phased through hers completely. He drew his hand back immediately, looking embarrassed. “…Right. I, uh… it’s been awhile since I’ve really interacted with anyone.”

“It’s okay. Hold it out again.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me.”

Much to her surprise, Stan immediately held his hand out. After a week and a half of being told that nobody could be trusted, it was kinda nice to have someone immediately be so trusting. She raised her hand and held it just around his, making it look as if she was holding it.

“We can always pretend, right?” She said with a smile. She moved her hand up and down, and he followed suit. “There. It’s nice to meet you, Stan!”

“Y-yeah, it’s… uh…” He drew his hand back again. “Nice to meet you too, Mabel.”

“Stan, are you okay?” She noticed he didn’t look happy anymore. In fact, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Hey-”

Before she could question him further, they heard voices at the front door. Dipper and Grunkle Ford were back!

“Stan, you should-” But he had already read her mind and had sunk halfway through the floor, clearly making his way to the basement. He shot her a desperate look as Grunkle Ford was messing with one of the many locks on the door.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m here. Especially Ford. Got it?”

Mabel just nodded, and finally the door opened.

“Mabel?” Grunkle Ford rushed into the living room. Even though Mabel had assured him over and over again that she would be safe in his heavily guarded and locked up cabin, it seemed he was still nervous. “Are you all right? Nothing tried to get in, did it? You didn’t see or hear anything strange or unusual, right?”

“Grunkle Ford…” Mabel hesitated. She hated lying, especially to someone who was always so uneasy like him. But… his anxiety would only increase if she told him that she had indeed seen something abnormal in the house. From what she could tell, Stan seemed friendly. And he had been here for quite some time. If he had meant to do something horrible to Ford, he would’ve done it already, right? “Nope. Nothing weird here except you leaving the T.V. on.”

“I did no such thing!” Ford protested.

“Yeah, sorry Grunkle Ford. That was me.” Dipper said.

“Dipper, were you marathoning the not about history channel again?” Mabel asked.

“Hey, it’s interesting stuff!”

“I understand that Dipper,” Grunkle Ford said, “but you need to be more careful. Leaving the T.V. on could possibly alert something! We…”

As Grunkle Ford lectured Dipper, Mabel turned her attention back to the ground behind her. Stan had poked his head out from the floorboards and winked. Mabel just smiled back before he disappeared entirely. She liked Stan, but something about him made her a bit uneasy.

She did own a purple sweater that said her name and lit up, yes. But she hadn’t taken it out of her suitcase yet, let alone worn it.

So how did he know her name? Something told her there was a bit more to him than he was letting on. Regardless, she’d trust him for now. She had set out to Gravity Falls this summer to make friends, and if her Great Uncle wouldn’t let her leave the house, then she’d just have to make friends inside the house.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a very high resolution image of the candy land board up while writing the entirety of this chapter

“Stan?” Mabel called out, running up the creaky stairs. “Stannn, where are you? I know you’re here somewhere!”

When she entered her and Dipper's shared bedroom she finally found him, floating up through the floorboards, looking slightly irritated.

“Jeez, you don’t need to yell. I’m dead not deaf!”

“Sorry, Stan, I was just excited to find you!” She exclaimed.

“Why would you wanna find me?” He genuinely looked confused.

“Well…” She shifted her feet and giggled, pulling out the large box she had been hiding behind her back. “I thought we could play a game together!” Stan drifted closer to her and eyed the box.

“Candy Land?”

“Yup!”

“Of all the games, why that?”

“Well… Great Uncle Ford and Dipper never want to play it with me. It’s too ‘silly’ and ‘childish’ or something.”

“I appreciate it, but I can’t really play. Still a ghost, y’know. Can’t pick up anything.”

“That’s why I chose Candy Land! It’s the only game where it’s not really cheating if I draw cards for you. C’mon, Stan, please?” He gave her a look, which she responded to with large, puppy-dog eyes.

“Fine.” He replied, sitting just above the ground. “Got nothing better to do anyways.”

“Sweet!” She plopped to the ground too and began setting up the game.

After she met Stan, she had been more and more eager to spend time with him. It wasn’t like she didn’t like spending time with her brother or Grunkle Ford. It was just that… well, how many kids got to say that they spent the summer hanging out with a dead guy? That, and she was curious about him. He had been here for thirty some odd years, unable to do anything except watch over Ford and his house. Perhaps he knew what was tormenting Ford, and maybe he’d be able to help her put an end to it? She certainly hoped so. And maybe after all of this was said and done, she could find a way to get Great Uncle Ford to see him and find a way for him to leave the house so he could make more friends. She felt bad making up excuses to stay behind when Ford and Dipper went out, but Stan must’ve been so lonely. Even if she couldn’t find a solution to his isolation, a friend for a month would still be nice for him.

“Okay, which color do you want?” Mabel asked, dumping the plastic players onto the board.

“Red.”

“Aww, I wanted red!”

“Why’d you ask then? Fine, whatever, I guess green’s pretty good too.”

“Well, for being so nice I’ll let you go first!” Mabel grinned and placed the two pieces on the board, and grabbed the first card. “Purple!” She moved his character to the purple space, then drew a card herself.

“Whoa, this game certainly got fancy.” Stan said, looking closely at the board. “Lord Licorice? Princess Frostine? Back when I was a kid there weren’t any characters; the board was just a map.”

“Candy Land with no citizens? That sounds awful.” She said, moving her player to the blue space.

“Guess they couldn’t be bothered to draw anything else back then.”

“Back when?” Mabel asked curiously.

“Hmm… when was the last time I played this?” Stan asked, scratching his chin. “Gotta be somewhere in the early sixties, probably.”

“Whoa! You’re super old!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Hey, no I’m not!” He snapped. “That’s the one joy of being a ghost. I get to be young forever!”

She drew a green card. Stan had missed the rainbow trail shortcut by one color, but at least he was in the lead.

“It’s kinda nice to be playing this again. I was about seven when my brother decided this game was too dumb for the likes of him.”

“You had a brother?” Mabel asked.

“What do you mean _had_? He’s still alive.” He replied.

“How do you know?”

“I just…” He hesitated. “I just know, okay? C’mon, it’s your turn.”

Mabel regretted asking him that. She wanted to pry, but if she had been stuck in some weird house for thirty years unable to see how Dipper was doing, she might get defensive as well. She drew a card, and moved to the red space.

“So, Stan-”

“I’m gonna stop ya right there.” Stan interrupted. “You’ve been asking all the questions, so let me ask a few. I haven’t talked to anyone in thirty years.”

“Fine, fine, ask away.” Mabel had no idea what he’d want to know from her, but it was only fair.

“Have you met anyone else in town, Mabel?”

“Um…” She hadn’t been expecting that question. “Not really. Grunkle Ford doesn’t really let us go out very often. We went to Lazy Susan’s diner once. And there was this girl Dipper thought was kinda cool-”

“Wendy?”

“You know her?” Mabel paused, moving Stan’s piece to the yellow space, just ahead of the gingerbread tree. “How? She’s only like, fifteen I think.”

“W-well she, uh… she and some of her friends tried to tag the shack one time. Ford got all mad and scared ‘em off before they could do anything, and she was the only one who stayed behind and actually apologized, saying it was that skinny kid in the hoodie’s idea. How’s she doing?”

“Not good.” Mabel said sadly. “Apparently her dad sent her off to her cousin’s logging camp since she couldn’t find a job for the summer. Dipper was really bummed out about it. I kinda am, too. She seemed cool.”

“Oh… that’s too bad.” Stan replied. “Too bad ol’ sixer doesn’t have any assistants.”

“Why? Do you really think he’d hire someone like her? She didn’t seem nerdy enough.”

“Oh, she’s not. But… I dunno. I can see her hanging around here. Breaking the rules and annoying Ford. It’d be funny.”

“Yeah, it would.”

Mabel drew a double orange and hopped ahead of Stan.

“Say, Stan, you’ve been hanging around here for thirty years so… do you know what’s been bothering Ford? I thought that with your knowledge of this place and my ability to… be seen and do stuff, I guess, maybe we could work together to stop whatever it is? I’m really worried about him.”

“I am too, kiddo.” Stan sighed. “But I probably won’t be able to help much. Never really been good for anything, y’know? Why do you think I was offed at twenty-eight?”

“Hey…” Now that he had said that, Mabel really wanted to pry and figure out why and how exactly he had died. But more than that, she wanted to reach out and give him a hug or put a hand on his shoulder or something. “No one’s good for nothing, Stan!”

“Well, you don’t know me.”

“I know you a little. And you seem really nice. Plus, you’re hanging out with me. Being a friend isn’t nothing!” Stan still looked skeptical. Mabel grabbed a card, and smiled when she read it. “Also, you’re super good at Candy Land. Look!” She flashed the card to him: it was a pink square with a lollipop in the center. She proudly picked up his green piece and set him down on the lollipop square. “Wow! You’re more than halfway done with the game! I’m not even close to you!”

“It’s just luck.” Stan said, but she could see him smiling.

“I’m sure you can still help me. Can you please tell me what you know?”

“Feh, I don’t see why not.” He sat back and scratched his chin again. “Ford’s scared of a lotta stuff, honestly. Like something called the shapeshifter, some other monsters… he’s got this weird thing with eyes, too. Used to shine a flashlight in people’s eyes before talking to ‘em. Luckily he kicked that habit before you kids showed up.”

“Well that would’ve been a good first impression.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” He laughed. “But… the main thing that bugs him, the main thing he’s been trying to keep out… it’s called Bill. I think he’s a demon or something.”

“Bill the demon?” Mabel snorted. “Of all the names… Bill?”

“I agree he’s got a weird name but from what I can tell, he’s serious business.”

“Have you seen him?”

“No. Whatever Bill did, he did it before I even showed up. Ford got rid of every trace of him.” He sighed. “But even that’s not enough for him. He’s still all paranoid and constantly putting up stuff to protect the house. And sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming bloody murder, panicking as if he really was being attacked by him. It’s been thirty years and it still happens! I wish I could just help him out, fight off whatever’s bothering him just like the old days and-”

“The old days?” Mabel interrupted.

“Uh… yeah, I mean…” Stan mumbled, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “My brother that got picked on a lot when we were kids. I always made sure to scare those bullies away for him, y’know? I guess Ford kinda reminds me of him.”

“Aww, you’re a really good brother, aren’t you?” Mabel asked, smiling up at him. Stan looked visibly shocked by her comment, before returning his gaze to the board game.

“It’s your turn, Mabel.” He finally said.

“I mean it!” Mabel protested.

“C’mon, it’s your turn!” Stan argued. “Hurry up so I can win already!”

Mabel rolled her eyes and returned to the game, moving her piece ahead two purple spaces. It seemed like Stan just wasn’t the type to accept compliments. But still, regardless of what he thought, he was a good brother. And it was sweet that he cared for Ford, too. There was no way someone with this big of a heart was good for nothing. She hoped he’d realize this one day.

“I met this other guy in town, too.” Mabel said, moving Stan to the next purple space. “He’s a repair guy and his name was… Soos, I think.”

“Soos?” Stan repeated. “Hey, I know him! How’s he doing?”

“He’s really friendly! It only took him like five minutes to start calling me and Dipper ‘dude’!” Her grin dropped as she continued thinking about him, however. “But… something about him seemed off.”

“What’s that?”

“He… Well, we found out he still lives with his grandma. Dipper asked him why, and he said that he was still waiting for someone, and couldn’t leave town yet. We had to go before he could really tell us who it was but… I dunno. It seemed weird.”

“Yeah that’s… odd.” Stan replied curtly. “Well, he’s a good kid. I’m sure he’ll be all right soon enough.”

“I hope so.” Mabel said sadly, drawing another card. “Oh, sweet!” She had pulled peanut card and catapulted herself to that space. “I’m gaining on you, Stan!”

“Ha, I’d like to see you beat my lead!”

They focused solely on the game for a few moments, seeing how close Mabel had come to Stan’s lead. Soon enough, they were just spaces away from one another and from the Candy Castle.

“I’m gonna beat you, Stan!” Mabel boasted.

“You’re gonna eat my dust, you little gremlin!” He reached for a card enthusiastically, only for his hand to phase through the stack. The grin on his face vanished as he pulled his hand out of the floor. “Heh, whoops. I guess… being with you, I keep forgetting…”

“It’s cool, Stan. I got it.” Mabel said, reaching for the card herself. She gasped when she saw it and so desperately wished she could put it back, hiding it under the rest of the stack for Stan’s sake at least- but she couldn’t cheat right now. Stan was looking right at her. “I’m so sorry, Stan.” She said, turning the card towards him. It was a pink square with a gingerbread man on it. And with that single card, Stan’s piece was moved all the way back towards the beginning of the board.

“Ah, figures.” Stan replied. Mabel had expected him to get pissed off, seeing how enthusiastic he had been for the past couple of turns, but instead he took the blow with little agitation. “Back to square one.” He sighed. “Story of my life.”

Mabel felt terrible. Perhaps there was something she could do to cheer him up? He wasn’t looking at the game board now, so maybe, if she played her cards right… she quietly sifted through the cards in the stack, until she found a yellow, then pulled it out.

“Oh no!” Mabel feigned disappointment as she moved herself to the licorice space. “Shoot. Miss a turn. Guess that means it’s your chance to catch up! ...Right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Stan replied. He still wasn’t looking at the board, instead finding his transparent hands to be more interesting.

“Hey, Stan… are you okay?” Mabel asked. “If you want, we can do something else…”

“No, it’s fine kiddo.” Stan said. “Look at you trying to cheer me up and here I am dwelling on things. Whose turn is it?”

“Yours.” Mabel drew a double green. “See? Your luck’s turning around.”

“Heh, yeah. That’d be nice.” He said, a small smile finally appearing on his face.

“Hey, Stan? I’ve been meaning to ask you….” She paused, trying to articulate her words. She wanted to know how he had died. Earlier he had said that he had died near Ford’s house, so Ford had to know about him, right? Ford hadn’t brought up any assistants or visitors he had ever had, and the name Stan had never come up, either. Why? Surely if someone died on his property he would know about it. Especially if he was killed. Stan had said that he was “offed” earlier, and only at twenty-eight? Something bad had happened to him, and Mabel wanted to know what it was. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to help her solve Ford’s problems- she trusted that he wasn’t lying when it came to his lack of knowledge of this so-called Bill- but he still deserved justice, and maybe peace if he could one day reach that. It broke her heart knowing he was all alone like this.

“A baseball bat to the back of the head.” Stan answered, interrupting her train of thought.

“What?”

“You were gonna ask how I died, right? Well, that’s it.”

“But… why? That’s horrible!”

“Eh, there’s worse ways to go, I think.” Stan shrugged.

“Well who- do you know who did it?” Mabel gasped as a horrible thought crossed her mind. “It wasn’t Grunkle Ford, was it?”

“Nah, of course not!” Stan almost laughed at the accusation. “He could be paranoid, but I don’t think he’d kill someone unless it was out of self defense.”

“Then what happened?”

“Look kid. I made a lot of enemies in my short life. One caught up to me and killed me, and here I am now. End of story. Try not to worry yourself about it too much.”

“Try not to… Stan, are you joking?!” Mabel exclaimed. “Of course I’m gonna worry! Someone… someone hurt you! And I don’t care what you did for someone to wanna do that to you, no one deserves this!”

“Mabel…” Stan looked at her sympathetically. “It’s really okay. I-I mean, Ford’s all right, no one really misses me… it- it all worked in the end-”

“But what about you? It didn’t work out for you, did it?” She could feel herself tearing up a little. “You must be so lonely…!”

“H-hey, it’s okay!” Stan insisted. He reached out to try and put his hand on her shoulder, but it sank through. If anything, that made her even more upset. “Kiddo-”

Before he could say anything more to comfort her, they heard footsteps hitting the stairs, and soon enough the bedroom door swung open, and Dipper walked in.

“Mabel, I thought I heard you talking to someone. Is…” He trailed off, taking in the sight before him. Mabel hadn’t had the chance to wipe her eyes yet and she still had a few tears rolling down her cheeks and Stan hadn’t left the room yet. Both of them stared back at Dipper. Mabel hadn’t told him about Stan yet, nor had the two really been in the same room at once before. Maybe he could see him, too?

“Are you playing Candy Land all by yourself? Why are you crying?” Dipper finally asked.

Mabel glanced at Stan, then back at Dipper. Stan was sitting closer to the door than she was, and Dipper’s gaze went right through him. He really couldn’t see Stan, could he?

“Dipper, it was terrible!” Mabel began to fake cry, dramatically wiping her nose on her sweater sleeve. “Mr. Green man was in the lead, but then he got sent back all the way to the start! It’s so sad!!”

Stan laughed at her dramatic display, and Mabel tried her best not to react to him.

“Mabel, if you’re this lonely, you can always ask me to play Candy Land with you.”

“But… I thought you said this game was only for dumb kids.”

“Well it is, but I can use a break from mysteries. Some kid stuff might be nice.” He smiled and sat down across from her. Much to her horror, he sat where Stan was floating. Of course he phased through, and Stan quickly floated out of the room, sinking through the floorboards. Still, Dipper wrapped his arms around himself a shivered. “Did it get cold in here or something? I think I get why you wear sweaters all the time.”

“Um… yeah.” Mabel replied nervously.

She reorganized the cards in the stack and moved the red piece back to the start. Dipper took blue, and the green was put back in the box.

“Hey, Mabel?” Dipper asked, drawing the first card and moving himself to the green space. “Sorry I’ve been hanging out with Grunkle Ford so much. He’s just… interesting, you know? If you want me to hang out with you, just ask.”

“It’s okay, Dipper.”

“But it’s got to be kinda lonely, right?”

“I haven’t been lonely; don’t worry about it.” Mabel drew a card and grinned at it. “What you should be worried about is how I’m gonna kick your butt!” She moved her piece to the orange, promptly taking the shortcut, catapulting her in the lead.

“Hey, no fair!” Dipper protested. “You totally knew that card was next!”

Playing Candy Land with Dipper immediately lifted her mood, but she still couldn't help but think about Stan. She thought she'd be able to learn more about Stan and possibly Grunkle Ford, but if anything she was left with more questions than answers. Who killed Stan? And why was it on Ford's property? 

That, and once again she felt as if Stan knew more than he was letting on. Grunkle Ford was pretty much a recluse, and Mabel could assume that very few people from Gravity Falls actually visited him. So even if Stan's story about Wendy was true, why did he know her name? And how did he know about Soos at all? It seemed the more she learned about Stan, the less she knew about him. But she was determined to solve those mysteries.

However, she was also determined to beat Dipper at Candy Land, so her thought soon returned to the game. She'd worry about the mysteries later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Without Stan in Gravity Falls, there'd be no Wendy during the summer, and I can imagine Soos would still be naively hoping for his dad to come back without having Stan around as a father figure.   
> Yet Stan still thinks he's good for nothing, huh.


	3. Chapter 3

From that day on, Mabel and Stan continued to hang out, but any talk about his past and his death was dropped. Mostly because the two couldn’t really talk all that much without Mabel running the risk of being caught. Ever since he found her crying seemingly alone with a game of Candy Land, Dipper made it his business to spend more time with Mabel. She appreciated it, really; she did enjoy spending time with her brother, and it was a little lonely with him always hanging out with Grunkle Ford, but now with his seemingly constant presence, it made it hard for her to converse with Stan at all.

That didn’t mean they never spent time together. It just meant that when Stan was talking, the most she could do is glance in his direction or nod to show that she had heard him. Sometimes, it worked out all right. She got into this show called _Ducktective_ , and it seemed Stan was a fan of it, too. Dipper seemed to like it as well, and with two (or technically three) versus one, Ford often had no choice but to join them in watching it. There was something right about them all sitting on the couch, Stan included, watching the show together. It was almost like they were all a family.

Mabel couldn’t help but wonder if Stan and Ford would get along. Ford was so studious and serious and Stan seemed more like an easy-going fun guy. But that could summarize her and Dipper, couldn’t it? Still, she couldn’t help but imagine them all being a family, especially considering how similar Ford and Stan looked. When they were sitting together Mabel could really see the similarities between the two. Of course, Ford was much older; but maybe if Stan had had the chance to grow old, they’d look even more similar. Maybe that's why he was here. Was he a distant relative? She'd have to ask him some time if she ever got the chance. 

However, hiding Stan’s presence could be hard. Sometimes she’d laugh at something Stan said while everybody else was in the room, and would have to pretend she just remembered something funny. Whenever Ford, Dipper and Mabel played cards together, Stan would tell Mabel what everyone else had, and despite her desire not to cheat, knowing everything was just too much and she often came out on top until she glared at Stan and he took his leave. And one time, Stan had instructed her on how to make pancakes. He called them Stan-cakes for some reason, but Mabel went along with it and whipped up a batch for everyone. But she couldn’t help but notice the look Grunkle Ford gave her when she had referred to them as such. She quickly came up with the excuse that the “Stan” stood for “Stanford”, but he still seemed a little off put by it.

Despite that, Dipper seemed more aware of her odd behavior than Ford did. He always eyed her suspiciously whenever she laughed at nothing, and he had even confronted her a few times on the accusation that she had been cheating when they played games. And there were many times where Dipper had caught her mid conversation with Stan, seemingly talking to herself. She kept coming up with excuses, but she was beginning to worry that soon enough, Dipper would want a straight up answer. But what would she say to him? Would he just be cool that there was a ghost haunting Grunkle Ford’s house? Probably not. He might tell Grunkle Ford, and he was already on edge enough as it was. She hated lying, but she would have to get better at it for the sake of this summer.

One morning, Mabel was awoken by the sound of Stan talking to her.

“Mabel.” He said. “Psst, Mabel! Wake up.”

“Ugh…” Mabel rolled over, away from the offending voice, trying to get a couple more minutes of blissful sleep.

“C’mon, kid, wake up! I know Dipper can’t hear me, so if you don’t get up I’ll start screaming. You don’t want that.”

Mabel didn’t stir, so Stan began to scream.

At the sound of his gruff screaming Mabel immediately shot up, screaming as well. And her high-pitched screaming soon awoke Dipper, too.

“Mabel?!” Dipper screamed. “Why are you screaming? Wh-what happened?!”

“I, uh, had a bad dream where I met Sev’ral Timez, and none of them liked me! It was terrible!” Mabel replied as genuinely as she could, all while trying to ignore Stan’s laughter just a few feet away.

“Well, try to get back to sleep.” Dipper said. “We should…” He trailed off when he gazed at the window, where bright, afternoon sunshine was filtering through the glass. “It’s already daytime?”

“Huh. That’s weird. Grunkle Ford usually gets us up for breakfast.”

“What time is it?” Dipper glanced at the clock on the table. “Twelve-thirty?! It’s already that late?”

“Maybe Grunkle Ford decided to sleep in?” Mabel asked.

“Well, I’ll go check.” Dipper said, hopping out of bed. “Go change out of your pjs.”

“At least I wear pajamas.”

“Pajamas are pointless. You save time wearing your clothes for tomorrow.”

“Well, you should get another pair of clothes, Dipper!”

Dipper just ignored her and left the room. As soon as she heard him going down the creaky stairs, she finally gave Stan her attention. “Stan, what’s going on?”

“Sorry for waking you up, kiddo, but I think Ford needs your help.”

“My help?” Mabel repeated. “Why?”

“Look, you kids probably shouldn’t get involved, but I think he might be in danger. He left a note for you two, and I think Dipper will find it in about-”

”Mabel!” Dipper shouted, storming back up the stairs.

“Now.”

“Mabel! Mabel, I think,” Dipper stammered, slamming the piece of paper on her bed, “I think Great Uncle Ford might be in trouble! Look at this!”

The letter was obviously written hastily, the handwriting cluttered and sloppy for the usually organized and cautious Grunkle Ford. Seeing the frantic handwriting made her skin crawl; it reminded her of the words that were often written on the walls in creepy houses in horror movies.

_Dipper and Mabel,_

_If my suspicions are correct, I believe that one of my old experiments has escaped captivity. I was a fool for thinking it was handled the way it was but I will try to fix the situation as swiftly as I possibly can. But, as I have stated before, Gravity Falls is not safe and it is even less safe now. If you are reading this and I have not returned yet, that means I have either been captured, injured, or I’m dead. Regardless of which case it is, I advise you two to leave Gravity Falls immediately. The bus tickets are stapled to the back of this note. I know you’re not supposed to leave for another week, but they should let you on. Leave Gravity Falls as quickly as you can. Don’t talk to anyone, even if you know them. Looks can be deceiving. Remember, no one is to be trusted in Gravity Falls!_

_NO ONE!_

“Wh-what?” Mabel gasped. “What happened to him?!”

“I don’t know but… but we have to do something, Mabel!”

“Right!” Mabel didn’t know how to tell him that that question had been for Stan rather than him. “Dipper, you’ve been hanging out with him a ton. Do you have any idea where he might be?”

“Maybe his lab.” Dipper replied. “He’d never let me go in there, saying it was too dangerous. I think it’s in the basement, but he’s blocked off all the entrances to it. There’s gotta be a way in somewhere, though.”

“Ok, I’ll meet you down there. Just gimme a sec.”

Dipper looked at her suspiciously.

“Pajamas?” She said, tugging at her nightgown.

“Right, whatever. Hurry, Mabel!” Dipper said, heading out the room once more.

“He’s not in his lab. I can promise you that.” Stan said, as soon as Dipper got out of earshot.

“Where is he then?” Mabel asked. “And turn around, I need to change.”

Stan did as he was told while Mabel pulled out a key sweater from her suitcase and put it on.

“He’s in his old bunker. It’s somewhere in the middle of the woods. I don’t know where, exactly, but there might be a map in that lab of his.”

“You’ve been down there before, right? How do you get in?”

“There’s a door near the front entrance that he has all locked up. The lock needs a password. It’s S-T-A-N-O-W-A-R. Got it?”

“Stan-O-War?” Mabel repeated. “What does that mean?”

“Who cares, that’s all you need to know to get in.” Stan said. “Now go before your brother messes up the code so many times that the house goes under lockdown.”

“Is that a thing that can really happen?”

“Knowing Ford, probably.”

Mabel rushed down the stairs anyways, and found Dipper standing by the aforementioned door, staring at the small keypad desperately.

“I know this is the way in.” Dipper said frantically. “But nothing I tried worked! I tried his name, our names… I even tried Probabilitar!”

“Stand aside, bro-bro.” Mabel said confidently, stepping before him. She spelled out the phrase “STAN O WAR” just as Stan had told her, and like clockwork the lock beeped and the door opened.

“Wha…” Dipper gasped, staring at her then back at the door in disbelief. “Mabel, how did you know that?”

“It’s just luck.” Mabel said with a shrug. Dipper glared at her; clearly he wasn’t buying it. “Okay, it was luck and uh…”

“It was the name of a fort he had as a kid.” Stan explained.

“It was the name of a fort he had as a kid!” Mabel repeated. “I saw it in a picture he has.”

“Really?” Dipper asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes really. Now c’mon, Dipper, we need to hurry!”

They headed down to the lab and were met with a mess. Well, it was a mess from what they could see. It was incredibly dark, and they couldn’t seem to find a light switch anywhere. However, several of the machines down there illuminated the space in an eerie blue light. The lab was filled with whirring machines and bookshelves and desks and any available space seemed to be covered in open books and scattered notes. However, the clutter was not what caught their attention first. In the back of the lab there was a window, framing the next room before them. Inside it was completely empty, save for the remains of some colossal looking machine, scattered and broken all throughout the room.

“Whoa…” Dipper gasped, taking it all in.

“What is that?” Mabel asked.

“It’s a portal.” Stan answered, drifting a few feet behind her. “It’s been broken for a long time. Don’t mess with it, though. And be careful around the machines by the door! I dunno if they’re on or not but if they are, they can really burn you!” Mabel nodded to signify that she had heard him.

“All right, let’s… look around, I guess.” Mabel said. She and Dipper split up, taking opposite sides of the room. Mabel wasn’t having any luck thus far; there were some interesting notes with drawings she had found about anomalies and strange creatures, but the unpleasant ones vastly outweighed the neat looking ones. She didn’t read anything she found for long, but now she could at least understand why her Great Uncle was so paranoid. If he had truly come into contact with everything he had written down here, then it was a miracle that he was alive, let alone able to be comfortable around others.

“Yeesh…” Mabel said, grimacing at a paper she noticed was stained in dried blood.

“Yeesh is right.” Stan sighed. “Ol’ Sixer hasn’t had the best of times these past thirty years. Ah well, at least he spent it in this world.”

Mabel wanted to ask him to elaborate, but Dipper approached her before she had the chance.

“Mabel, come over here. I think I found something!”

He lead her to the other side of the room where they found a desk with a bulletin board on the wall behind it. As expected, the desk was a mess, but pinned to the bulletin board was a bunch of papers, some of which with drawings of creatures, others just a mess of frenzied words and panicked statements. They looked different from a lot of the notes in Ford’s lab, however. They were all written on the same type of paper and they all had frayed edges, as if they had been torn out of a notebook or something.

“What’s this supposed to mean?” Mabel asked.

“Look!” Dipper flipped on a flashlight that was on the desk, which produced black light. When it landed on the pages, invisible ink illuminated them, revealing hidden words.

“Whoa…” Mabel gasped.

“One of these has got to have the answer.” Dipper said, peering at them intently. “Look!” He exclaimed, pointing to one that had originally been just a picture of a tree with the phrase _hiding spot?_ Written beside it. With the invisible text illuminated, it revealed a spiral staircase going down the tree, and just beneath it a large space with a stick figure drawn inside, saying _prepare for the end_.

“Do you think that might be it?” Mabel asked.

“It has to be.” Stan and Dipper said at the same time. Dipper either didn’t see her confusion or just ignored it, choosing instead to rip the page from the board. “Let’s go find him!”

“Yeah!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Wait, stop!” Stan interrupted, floating in front of her and effectively stopping her in her tracks. “You two should find something to defend yourselves with first. Just in case.”

“Dipper, wait. We should find something to defend ourselves with!” Dipper looked at her suspiciously, seeming to notice how quickly her enthusiasm had shifted.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He replied anyways. “Let’s look around. I think Great Uncle Ford might have an extra ray gun lying around somewhere.”

“I call dibs!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Not if I find it first!”

As Mabel searched through one of the desks, Stan materialized beside her once more.

“I think there’s something perfect for you, uh, where is it… oh! That cabinet!” He pointed towards cabinet against the wall. She followed his directions and inside found a box filled with miscellaneous stuff: pens, a couple old mugs, an old pair of glasses…

And a grappling hook.

“Whoa!” She exclaimed, pulling it out. “It’s perfect! I love it!”

“Heh, I figured ya would.”

“All set, Mabel?” Dipper asked. He had the piece paper in hand, as well as what looked like a large, complicated looking gun strapped to his back.

“Whoa, Dipper, do you even know what that does?”

“No, but… I’ll be careful with it. I swear! Now c’mon!”

The two of them rushed towards the stairs, and Stan followed behind.

“Kid, listen to me. I’m not entirely sure, but I think the thing he’s up against in that bunker is the shapeshifter.”

Mabel just nodded.

“If that’s what it is… then it might turn into Ford, or someone else you know. From what I’ve heard, it’s really dangerous.”

Mabel clenched the grappling hook in her hands tighter.

“If it does turn into Ford… ask him what his middle name is. If he says anything other than Fillbrick, you’ll know it’s the fake. And if that’s the case… run. I wanna make sure Ford’s okay, which I’m sure he is, but if it really is dangerous… I want you to run, got it? I don’t want anything bad happening to you two.”

They reached the front door of the house, and as they left, Mabel looked back to Stan once last time and gave him a thumbs up.

“We’ll be home soon!” She exclaimed.

“That’s my girl. See you soon!” Stan replied.

“Who are you talking to?” Dipper asked.

“The house!” Mabel lied. “I’m sure it’s going to miss us.”

“Whatever, let’s just hurry!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tfw u leave a dangerous experiment alone for like 30 years bc ur so preoccupied with other things and it comes back to bite u later  
> also ford destroyed the journals himself sometime over the past 30 years, but he kept pages that might still be useful to him (he destroyed the one that summoned bill and the instructions for the portal of course)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which this fic quickly goes from 0 to 10. Please note the added tags.

Despite the bunker looking like any other tree in the forest, the twins found it pretty quickly. Likely because it was covered in what looked like claw marks and…

“Is that… blood?” Mabel asked fearfully.

“Only one way to find out, I guess.” Dipper replied.

Clearly, someone had been here recently. The switch to activate the bunker had already been pulled, and the spiral staircase downward was already accessible. There were more claw marks running down the stairs, as well as spatters of blood here and there.

“It looks like something was dragged down here…” Dipper observed, quietly heading down the stairs.

“Do you think it was the monster? Or Grunkle Ford?”

“I’m guessing the monster. Those are way too big to be from him.” Mabel just nodded, cautiously stepping over one of the bloodstains. Much to her horror, she could tell it was still wet. “What about the blood?”

“I’m sure…” even Dipper sounded hesitant, “I’m sure it’s the monster’s too. Mabel, Great Uncle Ford told me all sorts of stories about monsters he’s dealt with. I’m sure he’s fine.”

“You really think so?”

“I’m positive. His letter was a little weird but… he can be kinda paranoid.”

“Like you’re the one to talk.” Mabel snickered, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Dipper replied, rolling his eyes.

They traveled further into the bunker, progressively getting more and more weirded out by what they saw. There was a room clearly meant to be booby trapped, but seemed to be deactivated if the paused walls meant to crush them were any indication. Inside was an observation deck, which clearly hadn’t been used in quite some time, seeing how everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. There were a few machines and screens, similar to the ones in Ford’s lab, save for the fact that several of them were on, displaying an image of a room filled with strange tubes. They looked like they were supposed to hold something in them, like some of the weird cryogenic freezing tubes Mabel had seen in sci-fi movies. They ignored them for now, continuing into the lab through a strange, tiny metal passage.

“Do you think he’s really in here?” Mabel asked, idly running her hand across one of the strange-looking tubes.

“Great Uncle Ford?” Dipper called out. There was no response, save for his voice reverberating through the cavern. On the ground, the trail of blood continued. “Let’s keep going.”

“This place is really creepy…” Mabel muttered, glancing at all of the strange tunnels and holes carved out through the place.

“Yeah, it’s no wonder Ford abandoned this place. He said there was a monster in it. That must be what made this whole mess.”

“It’s the shapeshifter, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know, he hasn’t told me what’s in here.” He glanced at her suspiciously. “Mabel, I’ve been meaning to ask-” His voice trailed off when the two of them heard a noise coming from deeper in the cave. The two of them quieted immediately, hiding beside the wall and got a better look. They could hear what sounded like a creature’s guttural screaming as well shouting from Ford. Soon enough, the tussle ended and out emerged…

“Great Uncle Ford!” Dipper exclaimed, rushing towards him.

“Wait, Dipper…!” Mabel followed behind, albeit nervously. Stan’s words were still fresh in her mind, and while she tried to be the optimist, she couldn’t help but be nervous.

“Great Uncle Ford, are you okay?” Dipper asked. Ford did look quite a bit scratched up. However, he looked upon them with a sympathetic smile.

“I’m fine, Dipper don’t worry about me.” He said, ruffling Dipper’s hair. “I took care of it.”

“Oh, thank goodness! We were so worried! With your letter, we really thought that something bad had happened to you!”

“I’m quite all right.” Ford responded.

“What exactly attacked you, Grunkle Ford?” Mabel asked.

“Oh, it was that darn shapeshifter!” Grunkle Ford exclaimed, dusting off his dirty trench coat. “I locked that thing away down here close to thirty years ago, but apparently it got out. Luckily I dragged it back down here before it could get too far!” He paused. “Hey, what are you kids doing down here? Didn’t I warn you to stay put?”

“Sorry, Great Uncle Ford.” Dipper said sheepishly. “But you couldn’t just expect us to abandon you!”

“Yeah, and with that letter… we really thought you were in a ton of danger!”

“W-well…” Now it was Ford’s turn to look embarrassed. “I suppose I over dramatized that quite a bit. My apologies.”

“It’s okay.” Mabel replied.

“Yeah we’re just glad you’re safe.” Dipper added.

“Can we go back now?” Mabel asked. “We didn’t have lunch before leaving, and something tells me you didn’t eat either. Oooh, maybe I can make pancakes for everyone again!”

“That’s a great idea, my girl.” Ford replied, patting her gently on the back. He started on ahead, as did Dipper, but Mabel stayed back.

Since when did Grunkle Ford ever refer to her as “my girl”? She had heard him refer to Dipper as “my boy” once or twice before, but it wasn’t common, and clearly she hadn’t hung around him long enough to earn herself a nickname quite yet. Not only that, but Ford had called Dipper by his name, but not her. She had said Dipper’s name a few moments ago, but not her own. Mabel could feel her heart pounding in her chest; if this wasn’t Ford… then perhaps he didn’t know her name and was using the nickname as a means of communication.

“Mabel?” Dipper asked, seeming to notice Mabel’s hesitance. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Mabel, dear?” Ford asked. “What’s the matter?”

“I…” Mabel wanted to trust him. She really, really wanted to trust him. But she couldn’t help but take Stan’s words earlier to heart. She needed to be sure. “I was just wondering… what’s your middle name?”

“Huh?”

“It’s just… You’ve never told us before. I’m curious!”

“Well… it’s Felix.” Ford replied. “Now let’s go.”

Mabel felt her stomach drop and her blood run cold. Fillbrick. That was his real middle name. It wasn’t like her Great Uncle to forget things. With his big brain, it seemed like he remembered to a point where he couldn’t help but worry and obsess over everything. There was no way he’d forget his own middle name! Mabel remembered the last thing Stan had told her: Run. She needed to run. She needed to get away from this impostor, but she needed to get Dipper away, too. If they could just get away, perhaps they could find the real Ford, and get him out of here!

Mabel caught up to the pair and grabbed Dipper’s wrist, gently pulling him back.

“Dipper!” She whispered. “We need to run!”

“What are you talking about?” Dipper replied, thankfully whispering as well.

“This isn’t Grunkle Ford! His middle name is Fillbrick, not Felix!”

“What? How do you know?” Dipper asked.

“Just trust me on this.”

“Kids?” Ford asked, turning back and looking at the two of them quizzically. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope, everything’s fine.” Dipper responded quickly, shaking his hand out of Mabel’s. Mabel began to panic; she had to do something, something to prove that she was telling the truth. She quickly pulled out the grappling hook and, with shaky hands, shot Grunkle Ford flat in the chest. He collapsed with a surprised grunt.

“Mabel!” Dipper screamed. “What did you do?!”

“Dipper, that’s not our Great Uncle!” Mabel responded. Dipper just ignored her and rushed over to him.

“Grunkle Ford, Grunkle Ford!!” He exclaimed, kneeling down beside him. Mabel joined him, looking down at the impostor with fearful eyes. The grappling hook had created a deep gash in his chest where pale green blood was seeping out. Once he had noticed this, Dipper stopped fretting over him, staring at the blood fearfully. The shape shifter began to tremble, sitting up slowly.

“You…” It muttered, its voice becoming deep and guttural, no longer resembling Ford’s. Mabel pulled Dipper back and stood in front of him, fearfully watching the display before her. The shape shifter finally opened its eyes, which now had slits instead of normal-looking pupils. “You _BRAT_!” It lunged at Mabel, its arm turning into a sharp claw. In one fell swoop, it slashed at Mabel’s face. Mabel screamed and fell backwards, clutching at her bleeding forehead. Thankfully, the shape shifter’s claw had just narrowly avoided her eye, but it had created a gash across the left side of her forehead.

“Mabel, Mabel!” Dipper shouted, helping her up. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?!” Mabel didn’t respond, instead just squeezing her left eye shut so no blood could get into it. They looked up fearfully when large, heavy footsteps approached them.

“You know,” the shape shifter said, pulling the offending grappling hook from its chest and dropping it to the ground, “I held no ill will against you children. I was going to kill you quickly and painlessly.” Dipper grabbed Mabel’s hand and the two of them began to back away slowly. “But I think I’ll make your deaths just as painful as that old man’s!” With that, it transformed into a pale, horrifying bug-like monster, losing all possible resemblance to their Great Uncle.

“Run!” Dipper screamed. Mabel squeezed his hand and the two of them burst into a sprint, hurriedly running down the twisting rock tunnels. The shape shifter was quick on their trail, so Dipper hurriedly pulled out the gun on his back, firing it at the creature. He managed to hit one of its arms, creating an unsightly gash. However, the victory was short lived, as the creature just regenerated the wounded appendage. “It’s not working!”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something!” Mabel responded, not bothering to look back. Dipper looked behind him, noticing some of the rocks hanging precariously from the cave’s ceiling. He shot at it with Ford’s gun and, thankfully, some of them came crashing down upon the creature. It wasn’t enough to kill the creature; they could see it hissing and struggling under the collapse, but at least it would give them a head start.

“Nice job, bro-bro!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Thanks!” The two of them ran further down the cave where they reached a fork in the road. Dipper turned on his flashlight and threw it down the left path, then hid himself and Mabel behind one of the larger protruding rocks on the right path. They waited in horrified silence for a few moments until the shape shifter appeared once more. It noticed the flashlight trailing further down the path and scurried down after it.

“…Did we lose it?” Mabel asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I-I think so.” Dipper said. They cautiously left their hiding spot, heading back the way they came. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“We should go back to the house.” Mabel said. “Then we can call the police and get someone to help.”

“Do you think anyone will actually believe us?”

“They gotta.” Mabel replied. She lifted her hand from her face, revealing the still-bleeding gash on her forehead. “You really think cops will see this and think we just made it up?”

“Mabel…” Dipper replied, his expression softening at the sight of it.

“It looks worse than it is, I promise.” Mabel said, mustering up a smile.

“All right. We’ll… we’ll try the police.” He gave her hand a squeeze as they continued towards the way out. “What about Grunkle Ford?”

“I…” Mabel hesitated. Based on the shape shifter’s words, they could assume… she shook her head, trying to hold the tears back. “I don’t know.” Dipper looked to be on the verge of tears, too.

“We-we’ll find him after we get help.” Mabel didn’t reply, keeping her eye on the path ahead of them. “Mabel, can you promise me something?”

“What?”

“Look, I know you’ve been lying to me. These past couple of weeks you’ve somehow known the answer to everything! You were one step ahead in every card game, you knew the password to Grunkle Ford’s lab, and you knew to ask him what his middle name was… You’ve been hiding something, and I want to know what that is.”

“Dipper…” She trailed off when she heard the faint sound of footsteps drawing nearer. “Safety first, then I’ll tell you?”

“Deal.” They began to run again, hurriedly rushing towards the entrance. Thankfully, they could see the strange lab with the freezing tubes inside. They were getting closer and closer when they heard a loud, inhuman screech coming from behind them. Mabel kept her gaze glued ahead of her, but Dipper couldn’t help but turn around and check if the creature was gaining on them. Thankfully he saw nothing behind him, but his foot caught on a rock and he was immediately sent to the ground, letting go of Mabel’s hand to brace himself.

“Dipper!” She exclaimed. “Are you okay?” Dipper could be clumsy, and this certainly wasn’t the first time he had been distracted and tripped. But this was certainly the first time he had tripped and landed on glass. One of the stasis tubes had shattered years ago, and Dipper was unfortunate enough to fall into it. He had avoided it most of it; a few cuts on his hands where he hand braced himself… but a large shard of glass had sliced his leg, running from just below his knee to close to his ankle.

“Ugh…” Dipper hissed, clutching at his leg in pain. It was bleeding fast; despite his best efforts Mabel could see the blood running down from beneath his grip.

“Dipper, I can fix that…” She reached for her sleeve, ready to rip it and make it a bandage.

“No, just… just help me up, okay?”

“Kay.” She held her hand out for him, and he groaned as he shakily got to his feet. ”Can you run?”

“I have to.” They held hands and broke into a sprint once again, but they didn’t get very far before Dipper fell to the ground again, biting his lip to stifle off any screaming.

“Dipper!” Mabel rushed to him again, grabbing ahold of his arm. “C’mon, bro-bro, we gotta go!”

“How?!” Dipper exclaimed. “I can’t walk!”

“That’s fine, just lean on me, we’ll…” She paused when they heard the sound again; the shape shifter was getting closer. “Dipper,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper, “what do we do?”

“I…” Dipper looked around the room desperately. “I think I’ve got a plan.”

* * *

When the shape shifter entered the clearing with the freezing tubes, it found Dipper all alone, clutching at his leg and leaning against one of the open stasis tubes. He could see the boy’s leg bleeding pretty badly and it slowed its pursuit; Dipper wasn’t going anywhere; it might as well have already won. It approached Dipper slowly, returning its form back to its pale, bug-like one.

“Did you hurt yourself, Dipper, my boy?” The shape shifter asked, imitating Grunkle Ford’s voice.

“Stop using his voice.” Dipper replied, glaring up at him. He remained eerily calm, despite the creature walking closer.

“Where’s your sister?” The shape shifter asked.

“You’re not going to find her.”

“So she left you to die, then?” Dipper just averted his gaze. “Ha! You and that pathetic old man really are similar. Having your twin abandon you just when you needed them most.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What does it matter? You’ll be dead soon.” The creature stood before Dipper, clearly contemplating its options. “Let’s see… what would be the cruelest way to do this? Being killed by your own uncle? Or maybe…” It paused and changed its form into Mabel’s, matching key sweater and everything. “Maybe I should get rid of you the same way I did that old man. Even in his last moments, the great Stanford Pines couldn’t bring himself to kill his own twin.” It pulled a blood-stained photograph out of its pocket and tossed it on the ground a few feet away from Dipper.

“What…?”

“Enough talking!” The shape shifter reached forward, wrapping it hands around Dipper’s throat and lifted him to his feet. “Any last words?!”

“Y-yeah!” Dipper stammered. Dipper stepped backwards and fell into the stasis tube, sending the shape shifter in with him. “Mabel, NOW!!”

Mabel had been watching this all through the screen in the observation deck, her hand hovering over the control pad the entire time. At Dipper’s signal, she slammed her hand on the button, causing the stasis tube to activate. The door closed and soon it began to freeze.

“What?!” The shape shifter exclaimed, getting to its feet. It pushed past Dipper, caring more about escaping than killing him at the moment. “No!” It screamed, pounding against the door of the tube. “No! NO! _NO_!!” It changed its form from a large bug to actual flames, to Grunkle Ford, then to Mabel again, none of which having any affect.

“Give up already, shape shifter!” Dipper shouted. Despite his fear, he folded his arms and glared at the creature. Regardless of what happened now, it had lost. “You’re not getting out!”

“You idiot, do you realize what you’ve done?!” The shape shifter screamed, grabbing ahold of Dipper’s shoulders and shaking him violently. “We’re going to be trapped here! Forever!”

“You killed Grunkle Ford and you hurt my sister. I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else ever again!”

“Well what about you?! You’ll be trapped here too!”

“No I won’t!” He turned away from the creature, gazing out of the tube where he knew Mabel was watching. “Mabel will come back for me. I know she will!”

“And what makes you so sure?”

“I…” Mabel could see Dipper struggling to speak; he’d be frozen soon. “I trust her.”

With that, the tube fogged up entirely. Mabel cautiously left her hiding spot and entered the lab, approaching the tube nervously.

“D-Dipper?” She asked. Just as she placed her hand on the glass, the shape shifter immediately slammed against it, causing her to scream and fall backwards.

“Don’t think this is over!!” It screamed. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you? Well, what are you going to do now, little girl? It doesn’t take a genius to know you’re the dumber of the two, and with that old man gone… you’re basically useless! You may have beaten me this time, but I will get out and I’ll make sure this is the last form you ever take!” The shape shifter, still with Mabel’s appearance, began to scream in agony as it was finally frozen as well.

Mabel just sat there on the ground for a few moments, staring up at the tube in horror. When nothing stirred, she stood up shakily, her gaze never leaving the tube. Initially she kept her focus on the shape shifter, but as she realized it wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon, she found herself staring at Dipper.

“Bro-bro…” She mumbled, placing her hands gently at the glass. Despite how terrified and in pain he must’ve been, he was staring out of the glass fearlessly, a small smile on his face. When push came to shove… he really did believe in her.

Which was terrible, because she had no idea what she was going to do from here. Dipper was the smart one; everyone knew that! She was the silly one that sometimes happened to find the solution to things. How in the world was she supposed to get him out of here? It had been his idea to trap the shape shifter; how in the world was she supposed to get him out of here without letting that thing loose? Maybe Grunkle Ford would know…

But he was dead, wasn’t he?

Mabel was pulled from her thoughts when she heard something crinkle beneath her feet. She looked down and noticed the photograph the shape shifter had tossed to the side. It was stained with blood in the corner. It was red, so it was probably… Grunkle Ford’s. Mabel pocketed it then began to run. She ran out of the bunker, sure to shut it behind her. Then she ran through the woods, pure adrenaline pushing her forward, far, far away from that bunker. Mabel began to tear up, then finally sob. What was the point in hiding it anymore? There was truly no solution to this now. Grunkle Ford was dead. Dipper was gone. And what in the world could she possibly do about it? She regretted following Grunkle Ford to his bunker, but more than anything she wished she could’ve stopped him from going as well. If only she could turn back time so that none of this had ever happened.

Sooner than she had anticipated, she reached the cabin. She entered the house and slammed the door behind her, then immediately sank to the floor and wept into her hands, not caring that the blood from the scar was getting everywhere.

“Mabel?!” Stan exclaimed, drifting up from the floorboards. “Kid, what happened to you? What’s wrong?!”

“S-stan…” With everything that was going on, she had almost forgotten about him. She wiped her eyes furiously, and finally looked up at him.

“Holy... what happened to your eye?!” Stan drifted towards her, fretting over her desperately. “What hurt you? Let me help you, I can-” As usual, his efforts to make any sort of physical contact with her failed as his hands sank through her skin. “Damn it, why can’t I help you?!” He desperately looked around before finally glancing back down the hallway. “L-look, Mabel, I think Ford keeps some bandages in the kitchen. I wish I could help you, even a little-”

“Stan.” Mabel interrupted. “Stop worrying about me. It doesn’t hurt that much. I… I got off easiest.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Mabel, have you seen yourself? It looks terrible!”

“It’s not as terrible as being stuck in a bunker forever with a monster!!” Mabel screamed. “It’s not as terrible as… as being dead!” Stan fell silent at her outburst and Mabel felt herself tearing up again. “We… we were too late, Stan. By the time we got there, Ford had already…” Mabel let another sob escape her and she wiped her eyes on her dirty sweater sleeve one more time. “The… the shape shifter attacked us. It said it was going to kill us, just like it killed Grunkle Ford! So we ran but… but Dipper got hurt. He couldn’t even run. S-so he tricked it. He tricked it into a weird tube thing and froze it so it couldn’t get out… but Dipper’s down there with it. I should’ve done something to save him, or…”

“...This isn’t your fault.” Stan said abruptly. Mabel looked up at him, noticing his voice sounded… weaker than usual. Though his visage was faint as always, Mabel could see that he was beginning to cry. “I’m so sorry that I sent you kids down there. You shouldn’t have seen something like that, same with… Dipper. God, Mabel, I’m so sorry. Every time I think I’m doing something to help, I always make it worse! I thought, I thought I could help sixer, but all I did was ruin his life even worse! And then I got you innocent kids mixed up in it when that should’ve never…”

“Stan, what are you talking about?” Mabel asked.

“Nothing. Nothing, let’s just… let’s get you fixed up, okay? We should-”

“Oh, cut it out, Stan!” Mabel exclaimed. “Stop lying to me! I know you’ve been hiding something from me since day one, and I want to know the truth! How did you know what my name was without me telling you? How did you know about Soos and Wendy when there’s no way they could’ve been up here? Why do you know so much about Grunkle Ford? Dipper’s gone, Grunkle Ford’s gone… it’s just us two so please… please tell me the truth.” She pulled the photograph from her pocket and showed it to Stan. While it was crumpled and old and the corner was stained with a little bit of blood, the image still remained clear enough: it showed a young Stan and Ford standing side by side before their creation: a boat called the Stan O’ War. “This is you, isn’t it?" She asked, pointing to the little boy who lacked glasses and an extra finger. "Maybe it’s too late, and maybe there’s no fixing this but… maybe we can do something. Please, if anyone would know… it’s you.”

Stan drifted closer towards her, getting a good look at the picture in her hands. He began to tear up even more at the sight of it, but despite that, he smiled.

“I can’t believe it… After all these years, after all the things I’ve done… he actually kept that old thing?” Stan chuckled bitterly. “Mabel, I don’t think there’s anything I can do to help. I’m nothing but a screw up; always have been, always will be. But fine, I’ll tell you the truth. After what you’ve been through, it’s the least I can do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whaaaaaaat did you really think the major character death tag was for stan? please.   
> Also I hope the twins didnt come off as wildly weak or anything. I just feel like the shape shifter was one of the hardest enemies they faced in the show, and somehow i doubt they would've gotten away at all if they hadn't spent the whole summer fighting off monsters and going on adventures. In this au they haven't, so...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note the added tags.

Stan was floating above the kitchen table, idly scratching his chin, as Mabel sat down and began to clean and apply bandages to her face. Stan was going to tell her the truth, but only under the condition that she fix herself up while he did so. He couldn’t _physically_ help her, but he wasn’t about to sit around and let it go unchecked.

“Hmm… where to even begin?” He mumbled.

“Ford was your brother, right?” Mabel asked, pressing a soapy washcloth to her forehead. “How come he’s never mentioned you? Our grandpa hasn’t even mentioned you either.”

“Well… they didn’t have any reason to, probably. After all, I was kinda… the black sheep of the family.”

So he told her. That when they were younger, Stanley and Stanford Pines were the closest of friends. They did everything together; they played together, went to school together, and shared their dreams together… Dreams like sailing the seas and travelling the world together on their own ship: the Stan O’ War.

“That was our first attempt at her.” Stan said, gesturing towards the photograph.

“It’s a really cool ship.” Mabel replied.

“And speaking of ships, you like quite the pirate yourself. Nice eye patch.”

Mabel had wrapped the bandages around the left side of her face. She wasn’t too skilled at it, and decided it was just easier to wrap them around her eye, too. Mabel just gave him a look.

“What? Too soon?” He paused. “Sorry.”

Stan and Ford had been close throughout their childhood, but it didn’t take a genius to tell that they had striking differences, and not just due to Ford’s additional finger. Ford was extremely intelligent; his IQ was off the charts and he excelled in his classes; the school could tell that he had a bright future ahead of him. Stan, on the other hand, didn’t.

“I was dumb as a sack of bricks.” Stan said. “Even the school knew I was good for nothing.”

“No one’s good for nothing, Stan.” Mabel said sympathetically.

“Well…” Stan’s feigned smile faltered for a moment, but he remained resilient. “Well, I haven’t finished my story yet, have I?”

Just as high school was coming to a close, Ford was given a stellar opportunity: if he could impress the scouts at West Coast Tech, he could possibly earn a full ride scholarship to their university. It was a prestigious university; anyone who went there had their future sorted out for them. He’d be able to make millions with his research and achievements. Of course, Ford couldn’t say no to that opportunity, and Stan couldn’t help but be jealous. The way things were going, he’d be lucky if he didn’t wind up a barnacle scraper. He was frustrated that Ford was seemingly ready to give up the childhood dreams both of them had so longed for. In fit of jealousy, he had accidentally destroyed Ford’s perpetual motion machine, and in one fell swoop he had ruined Ford’s future.

“Of course he was mad… I mean, why wouldn’t he be? I had single handedly screwed up his whole future!” Stan sighed. “So it was no wonder he didn’t bat an eye when Pa kicked me out of the house.”

Suddenly, he was on his own. Pa had told him he was only allowed to come home should he ever accumulate the money he had just lost Ford. And Stan, seeing few other options, accepted. He spent about ten years on the road after that, struggling to survive while picking up a couple of odd jobs. He was desperate to make millions, so it was no surprise he those odd jobs began to turn to illegal activity. From telemarketing to fraud and theft to crimes he couldn’t bring himself to mention to Mabel, Stan had seen and done it all. Eventually, after ten years of leading a dangerous and impoverished lifestyle, he had reached rock bottom. He was close to thirty, broke, unemployed, banned in most states and had several gangs and criminals after him. He’d be lucky if he made it to his thirtieth birthday alive. Late that night, he had gotten a postcard in the mail. It was from Ford, who had made absolutely no effort to talk to him in the past decade. All it said was to come to Gravity Falls, and to hurry!

“I had no idea what ol’ sixer had been up to these past ten years but… this was my chance at finally being able to reconcile with my family again. Sure, maybe Pa wouldn’t accept me but… it was at least worth a shot. Besides, I missed him.”

“I’m sure Grunkle Ford missed you too, Stan.” Mabel said.

Stan just gave her a look.

Stan had headed to Gravity Falls as quickly as he could. And once he arrived, he was shocked at what he had found: Ford had become a paranoid, terrified mess who had completely isolated himself in the woods and had greeted him with a crossbow. Ford didn’t really explain what he had been up to over the years, only that he had made himself quite a few enemies and that he was in danger. He told Stan to take his research and get as far away from him as possible so that it couldn’t be found.

Of course, Stan had been infuriated. After all these years, he thought maybe his brother had wanted to see him again. That maybe he wanted to be friends again and reconcile. But immediately he had shut him down and told him to go away. Stan yelled at him, and soon the two of them had gotten into a fight. In the mess of it all, Stan had accidentally pushed Ford into the portal in the basement and vanished in an instant. Stan tried desperately to get him back out, but nothing ever worked. However, he couldn’t give up. He continued day after day to try and bring him back, even as the days soon turned to months… then years, then decades.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there, Stan.” Mabel interjected, staring at him skeptically. “You said you died thirty years ago. How could you have tried for years if you were…”

“Good to see you were paying attention.” Stan said.

Eventually, Stan had had no choice but to go into town. The folks of Gravity Falls seemed curious about Ford’s old shack, and it was only a matter of time until he converted it into a tourist trap he called the Mystery Shack. During the day he was Stanford Pines, Mr. Mystery, who tricked tourists out of their cash and made himself a living while at night he went downstairs and attempted to fix the portal. After thirty years with nothing but failure, however, he found his hope wearing thin. Thirty years with absolutely no sign of activity within the portal, no sign of Ford, no answers… He began to worry that maybe it was busted for good and there’d be no way to undo what he had done.

Thirty years after the disappearance of Ford, Stan was given the responsibility to watch over Dipper and Mabel for the summer, seeing how their parents wanted them to get out of the house.

“Stan, what are you talking about?” Mabel interrupted again. “This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Just hold on, it’ll make sense soon.”

Having those kids over for the summer was the first time he felt really cheerful in years, but it brought him no closer to solving his conundrum with Ford. If anything, it made it worse. With the kids staying the summer there, it made it harder for him to sneak away at night and… those kids were just too charming. He loved spending time with them, and for the first time in years he found himself forsaking his time with the portal to spend time with something he thought he’d never have again: his family. And while he did enjoy spending time with the kids, the nagging thought that Ford was still trapped- maybe dead, maybe not, who knows, - was eating away at him.

Then it happened.

Stan decided to host a fair at the Mystery Shack to drive up sales at the gift shop. While he was rigging up the dunk tank, he noticed a strange man walking around. He was bald and always wore goggles, and his clothing reminded him of something straight out of a D-rated sci-fi film from the 60’s. Normally, he wouldn’t think much of it. Gravity Falls had a surplus on freaks, so he didn’t come off as a concern. However, the strange guy had accidentally left his tape measurer on the ground while he went on a ride. Stan picked it up; he could use it for what he was doing. But when he pulled the tape out and snapped it back, the world shifted around him and soon he found himself…

In the same location. But a couple weeks in the past. He watched himself in his own car drive off to go pick the kids up from the bus stop. Naturally, he couldn’t believe his eyes; had he really… traveled back in time? Just in case, he tested it out again, and found himself sent back a couple of months; the Mystery Shack was covered in a thick layer of snow, and it was still coming down hard.

It took a moment for Stan to process it. With this in his hands… there was no telling what he could do. He could… he could fix everything! Every mistake that he had made, everything he had screwed up… he could fix it all! The only issue now was where to begin. He could go back and stop himself from breaking Ford’s experiment…. No, wait, that would still cause him and Ford to separate, wouldn’t it? Maybe he could go back and prevent Ford from hearing about West Coast Tech in the first place so they could continue their dreams! The thought made him happy, but the more he dwelled on it the quicker it soured. No… doing that would only be preventing Ford from reaching the future he so deserved. And if he stopped himself from breaking Ford’s project, who was to say he wouldn’t do something even worse to him along the line? There was no guarantee, and with how much of a screw up Stan was, he wouldn’t be surprised if altering the past lead him to do something even worse than break a science fair project.

Stan sighed when he realized what he should do. He needed to get rid of the problem, and the biggest problem in Ford’s life… was himself.

“No…” Mabel gasped, staring up at him in horror. “You didn’t, did you?”

“It…” Stan couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze. “It seemed like the most logical option.”

He wasn’t going to kill the child version of himself. He couldn’t bring him to kill a kid, even if the kid was himself. Besides, some of the few things he had done right had been when he was a little kid. He was Ford’s first friend, and he wasn’t about to make Ford live a friendless childhood. He thought about killing his teenaged self, right before he destroyed the project… but no, that’d be cruel too. Ford liked him at the time; he didn’t want to make Ford live through the horror of having his best friend die, even if it would be best for him in the long run. That, and he didn’t have it in him to kill himself when he was in contact with his folks. While he was sure his Pa wouldn’t care, he didn’t want to put his Ma through that. Finally, he determined the best time: when Ford had contacted him ten years after their falling out. It was perfect. He hadn’t talked to his parents in years; they wouldn’t care that he had died. He had no other friends or family, and most importantly Ford still hated him. All he had needed Stan for was something he’d probably be able to figure out on his own. Stan had driven all the way across the country in just a couple of days, forgoing eating and resting to get to his estranged brother. He’d be weak and exhausted… and he’d be perfect, easy pray.

“So I went back in time to that date and waited for my younger self to arrive. And when he did… I killed him before he even made it to Ford’s front door. And for some reason… I wound up remembering all of it. One of those time paradox-things, I guess.”

“Stan… why would you do that?” Mabel asked. It was all a lot to take in, but she couldn’t help but cry at his story. “You didn’t know if he was dead or not… He might’ve… he might’ve been okay!”

“I know that.” Stan replied. “But ensuring he was safe was better than leaving it up in the air.”

“W-well… what about Ford? Did he…. Did he ever find out?”

“No. Ford rarely stepped foot outside the house, and the snow ended up covering up my body. By the time it melted in the spring, I was nothing but a bunch of bones. Makes me wonder exactly what this Bill guy was like. When Ford found my bones, he thought it was a prank from him. Seems it wasn’t the first time he was threatened with a skeleton. He buried me in the backyard, never knowing who it was.”

“That… that’s horrible!” Mabel whimpered. “If only he knew. I’m sure he’d-”

“He’d what? Chastise me for dying instead of helping him out?” Mabel recoiled at his harsh statement. “Uh… Sorry, kiddo. It’s just that Ford didn’t like me too much. When I never turned up at his place he was furious. Complained that this was no surprise, that of course his… _worthless_ brother couldn’t even be bothered to show up. The way it went was best. He was better off without me.”

“No he wasn’t.” Mabel said.

“How do you know?”

“How do I know?” Mabel repeated. “Stan, it’s obvious! Sure, Ford didn’t end up on the other side of some strange portal, but he wasn’t happy here. He made no friends between then and now, and it took tons of time for Grandpa Shermie to convince him to let us see him! He’s been lonely and sad and… if you were there, it wouldn’t be like that.”

“He hated me.”

“He loved you!” Mabel insisted. “Why else would he have kept this photo for so long?” Stan just glanced at the photograph and remained silent. “Look, both of you had your issues and both of you were being total dummies… but you love each other. I know you do!”

“Mabel…” For a moment he looked sort of touched, but soon enough his expression grew bitter again. “Even if that were the case… what does it matter? You’ve heard my sob story; now what? Dipper’s still stuck in a bunker. Ford is still… gone. Once again my contribution was pointless.”

Mabel looked like she was about to say something in protest, but even she couldn’t think of anything. She was hoping something in Stan’s story would give her a clue. That maybe he knew how Ford’s lab worked so he could help get Dipper out without releasing the shape shifter, or maybe he knew of some strange device Grunkle Ford had made that could change realities or bring back the dead or alter time or…

“Wait a sec.” Mabel said abruptly.

“What?”

“That time traveler. Do you know why he was there?”

“How should I know? Probably just wanted to enjoy the fair, live a little.”

“You knew everyone in town, didn’t you? And you had never seen him before?”

“Nah. Probably would’ve recognized him.”

“Then he must have been there to fix something! That’s what time travelers are always doing!”

“How do you know?”

“Oh come on, have you never seen a movie with time travel? It’s always about fixing this, stopping this, changing that… Maybe that’s what he was doing.”

“Well, so what?”

“So what? Stan, by doing what you did you basically created a completely alternate universe! You’ve changed the course of history and changed everything!” She stood up and stared at Stan, utterly determined. “That guy will have to come back and fix this, I just know it!”

“How can you be sure?”

“W-well…” Mabel’s smile faltered for a moment. “I’m not sure… but it’s the best we’ve got to go by right now. What date did he come here? Do you remember?”

“Ugh, it’s been awhile…” Stan replied, scratching his head. “Towards the end of June, but before Summerween… had to be the 26th, maybe 27th?”

Mabel stood up and looked at the calendar on the wall. On it, Ford had been scribbling events and memos on the dates and crossing them out as they passed.

Today was the 25th.

“That’s tomorrow! …Maybe.” Mabel said. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens!”

“This is a terrible plan.”

“Well it’s the only one we’ve got. We can fix this, Stan.” She said, idly gazing at the blood-stained photograph on the table. "We have to." 


	6. Chapter 6

Stan had been pretty accurate because something finally happened on June 27th. The prior day Mabel had spent sitting on the couch and gazing out the window, where Stan said the fair would’ve been if he were still alive to organize it. Mabel was thankful that Stan was here. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to sleep after what had happened in the bunker, but being alone both day and night would’ve been awful as well. He was nice company to have and she gladly spent her time chatting with him while the two waited for something to happen. Since he had been around for close to two lifetimes now he had quite a bit to say, even though he had spent half of that dead. He mostly told Mabel about some of the adventures he had gone on with Ford as a little kid. Despite the grim atmosphere of the now rather desolate house, those stories seemed to cheer him up. With how admirably he talked, Mabel could tell that despite all his complaints, Stan really did love Ford.

“Y’know,” Mabel said, after Stan had just finished talking about how he and Ford had snuck into a movie using the old two kids under a trench coat technique, “I’m really glad I got to meet you.”

Her statement had clearly caught him off guard and he looked surprised for a moment, before averting his gaze away.

“Yeah, well, even when dead the world didn’t want to get rid of me, I guess.”

“I think that’s a good thing. Without you, this summer would’ve been terrible.”

“It is terrible.”

“Well without you it would’ve been even worse.”

“I’m the reason this summer is terrible, Mabel.”

“Well, imagine how much worse it would’ve been if you were completely gone! Ford wouldn’t have had his guardian angel, I would’ve been completely friendless and we would’ve never found a way to reverse things. If it wasn’t for what you said, either, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the bunker.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The shape shifter disguised itself as Grunkle Ford and he fell for it. Your advice saved us. Or… it saved me.” She had been talking to Stan to try to distract herself from the situation at hand but… remembering where Dipper was and what had happened to him still plagued her thoughts.

“Hey.” Stan said, placing his hand a little above her shoulder in what he hoped came across as comforting. “You’re gonna save him. I know you can do it.”

“You really think so?”

“Of course! I only knew you kids for a month, but the things I saw you two do were amazing! I’m sure you can do anything you set your mind to.”

“Thank you, Stan.” Mabel was still nervous, but his assurance helped.

“I-” Stan looked like he was about to say something else when they saw a bright flash in the yard before them. The conversation was immediately dropped as the two gazed out the window expectantly. Fretting in the yard just a couple of yards away was the man Stan had described. He had a larger build and was indeed wearing an outfit that looked like it came from a bad sci-fi movie, and in his hands…

“Is that the tape measurer you were talking about?” Mabel asked.

“You bet it was.”

“Okay.” Mabel hopped off the couch and took a deep breath.

“You can do this.”

“I can do this!” Without a moment to waste, she opened the door and strolled towards the man who was seemingly in too much of a fuss to notice her.

“No… no… t-this… This is all wrong!! Wh-where’s the fair things?? And the… the people!! Oh no, this is… this is bad… this is all completely off!!!”

“Excuse me?” Mabel asked. The man screamed and turned to face her anxiously.

“What! Who- what… what are you doing here?” He stammered.

“I live here. But more importantly, I wanted to talk to you. I know what you are, and-”

“Wh-what? No you don’t! Uh… MEMORY WIPE!!” He threw something damp at Mabel and she pulled it off her face, puzzled.

“This is a baby wipe.”

“No it’s not!! It’s a… um…” Mabel just gave him a look and finally he gave in. “All right you… you got me. Tell me what you want, child.”

“Well first off, hi. My name’s Mabel.” She extended her hand out for him to shake, which he eyed suspiciously before ignoring.

“I’m Blendin Blandin, time… wait a second, I thought you said you knew who I was!”

“I did! I just didn’t know your name. You’re a time traveler, here to fix time problems, I think. And you were expecting a fair full of people and rides that commit health violations, right?”

“How… how in the world could you know that?!”

“Let’s just say that I know why everything’s all messed up… also we happen to be standing in a completely alternate universe due to a time mess up.”

“Wh-what?! Are you serious?!”

“Yup! But hey, great news, I know exactly how to fix it, so if you’d just…”

“No!!” He shouted, pulling the tape measurer away from her. “If this… if this is really a time paradox that large… I will have to c-consult Time Baby, and-”

“Oh, come on!” Mabel whined, making the best puppy dog eyes she could manage. “Please? I promise I can fix everything. I’ll only borrow it for a second!”

“Yes, and one second can cause years of problems for me and my team!” He exclaimed, gesturing to the empty field around them. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I must-”

“I’m really sorry to do this, Blendin, but you’re not leaving me any other choice.” She grabbed the clump of glitter in her pocket, and tossed it at him. “Attack glitter!!!”

“What the-”

He was wearing goggles and remained relatively unaffected by the cloud of glitter, but the surprise of it had caused him to drop the tape measurer. Mabel quickly snatched it from him and rushed towards the house, sure to lock the door behind her.

“Mabel!” Stan exclaimed, appearing in front of her. You did it! You really did it!! That’s my girl!”

“Thanks, Stan.” She still felt bad for doing that to Blendin, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Before she could say much else, the door behind her shook as Blendin pounded against it.

“Let me in!! I-I need that back!! You have no idea what you’re messing with here!!”

Mabel ran further into the house, eventually running to Ford’s room and shutting the door behind her. Thankfully, Ford had a lock on this door as well, creating yet another obstacle for Blendin to get through, should he get in the house.

“All right, Stan, we gotta hurry.” Mabel said desperately.

“Right, right… Maybe you can stop Dipper and past you from going into that bunker?”

“Stan-”

“No, no, wait, you’re right! That wouldn’t solve the issue with Ford… maybe before he goes in?”

“Stan-”

“No, even better! Stop him from creating that stupid creature in the first place! …Except I don’t know when he actually did that, and-”

“STAN!!!” Mabel shouted, effectively silencing him. “I’m not gonna do any of that junk. I need you to tell me when you died, okay?”

“You’ve gotta be joking, Mabel, what good would that do? I can think of a million other things that would save the day!”

“Yeah, and who’s to say that won’t mess up things even worse than they are now? Stan, there's gotta be a reason why you still remember everything. And if we keep messing with things, who knows what will happen? We need to return everything back to normal!”

“But... Ford will be missing. And who’s to say I won’t wind up doing something terrible to you kids as well?”

“You would never do that. Look… I know you’re scared. The future is… really, really scary, and there’s no knowing what will happen! But… finishing what you started is better than giving up, I think. I’m sure you’ll be able to bring Ford back. And I’m sure you’ll take great care of me and Dipper when we come over.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I… I just know. I trust you, Stan.”

Stan looked like he was about to argue something else, but paused when his gaze drifted to the bandages around the left side of her face.

“January eighteenth, nineteen eighty-two.” Stan finally said with a heavy sigh. “Had to be close to three in the morning. Your best bet would be to go around two forty-five. I’m gonna be hiding in the trees in front of the shack.”

“Thank you.” Mabel smiled at him before pulling the tape from the measurer to the correct date and time.

“Wait a second, kiddo!” Stan interjected, before she was able to snap it back. “If there’s one person who knows me, it’s me. So listen up, because I’m stubborn as a mule and convincing me won’t be easy.”

“Should I tell him what happened to Great Uncle Ford?”

“Yes, but… nothing will convince him more than realizing that some harm came to you kids.”

“Really?”

“I swear on it.” Stan looked gravely serious, and Mabel couldn’t help but wonder what Stan was like while alive. He really did care about her, and Dipper, too. She figured she’d like to see this man not as just a friendly ghost, but as a Great Uncle as well.

“All right, I got it.”

“Knock ‘em dead, kiddo.” Stan said, giving her thumbs up. “Well I mean… we don’t want him to be dead. You know what I meant.”

“I know.” She smiled at him one last time, wishing more than anything that she could give him a goodbye hug. “See you later, Grunkle Stan.”

She snapped the tape back and vanished from the room in an instant. Stan gazed at the place where she once stood, a sad smile on his lips.

“See you later, pumpkin.”

* * *

 

In a flash, Mabel was enveloped in a bright, blinding light. But just as soon as it had come it vanished, and she tumbled to the ground with a thud. She sat up, a little dizzy, and attempted to make out her surroundings. The room was terribly dark. Close to pitch black, in fact. The only source of light came from a large, rectangular, colored glass window, where Mabel could just barely make out what looked like a blizzard outside. Despite the faint light, Mabel recognized the room immediately: it was Grunkle Ford’s, albeit much, much cleaner and it smelled less old and dusty. There were a few changes, of course; there were less liquor bottles on the shelf than there were in the present, and the desks were more barren, unlike the disorganized, paper-covered excuses for tables he had now. Along with that, the window was boarded up in the present, which was a shame, because it made the room look nicer.

However, Mabel had little time to critique the interior decorating of Ford’s bedroom when she heard footsteps approaching. Mabel quickly hid beneath the table, making sure to conceal herself behind a chair with a coat hanging off of it. The door soon slammed open and in walked a younger, thinner and visibly more disheveled Great Uncle Ford. Mabel gasped at the sight of him. She had never seen her Great Uncle as anything other than an old man before. He had gotten rid of most photographs of himself for whatever reason. But seeing him like this really did remind her of Stan. Those two looked so similar; she felt stupid for not figuring it out for so long.

“I heard something…” Ford mumbled, scanning the room cautiously. “I heard something, I know I did… where…?”

It took Mabel everything in her power to stay back and not hug him. Despite his youth, he looked so high strung, exhausted and terrified. She wished she could come out and try and cheer him up, but… somehow she figured that explaining that she’s his grandniece from the future here to stop his brother from killing himself which would lead to Ford’s death as well as great harm to befall his grandnephew wouldn’t fly to well. That, and when Ford began to search the room, Mabel couldn’t help but notice the crossbow strapped to his back. She remembered what Stan said about Ford greeting people with that crossbow, and she decided she’d rather not be on the receiving end of it.

Ford looked very on edge as he searched the room relentlessly for the sound he just heard. Mabel held her breath as he drew closer to her hiding spot. Up close like this, Mabel could see how bloodshot his eyes were and how messy he looked. She wanted to believe that he wouldn’t hurt her should he find her, but there was really no knowing. Just as he was about to move aside the coat that was concealing her he stood up with a sigh.

“I don’t have time for this!” He exclaimed, scratching his head anxiously. “It’s just your mind playing tricks on you, damn it! Stop messing around!” He headed back towards the open door and left, but not before taking a long swig from a flask in his trench coat. Mabel waited quietly until his footsteps vanished down the hallway before finally crawling out from under the table.

Mabel felt awful. Watching her Great Uncle in such a state of disarray and fear made her so sad. If this was what he was like in his late twenties, it was no wonder that at sixty he was paranoid to the point of complete isolation. Mabel wished she could go after him and try to console him... but no. Even if he didn’t wind up attacking her on sight, she needed to practice what she preached and not alter anything further. She just hoped that this Ford would somehow find a way to live happily, at least one day. Mabel hopped up on the couch and slowly opened the window, trying her best to keep quiet. She quickly slipped out into the bitter cold, shutting the window behind her.

It was freezing. Mabel really wished Stan had told her just how cold it was when he died. She was thankful that at the very least that she was wearing a sweater; she couldn’t imagine how unbearable it’d be if she was wearing something like a T-shirt. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm and pushed her way through the pelting snow. Time was of the essence, and she simply couldn’t afford to sit there and wait! She finally made her way to the thick woods surrounding the house, where the snow was a little bit lighter. She made her way through the trees, circling around towards the front of the house when finally… she saw him.

Standing a few yards away, hiding behind a tree was an older man in a suit. Mabel’s stomach dropped when she noticed the baseball bat in his hand. This was Stan. This had to be. She crept closer, her heart pounding in her chest with each step. How would this Stan react to her? Would he be angry? What if he tried to attack her? The uneasiness of it all worried her, but she knew that, at this moment, nothing would be worse than letting him go through with it. She’d have to stop him. She had no choice.

She was now only a couple feet away, and this older Stan still hadn’t noticed her. He looked utterly determined, his eyes fixed forward towards the snow-covered path that lead to the house. At this distance, Mabel could make out more details on his old face and his similarities to her Grunkle Ford were stunning. He looked exactly like him! This was what Stan was supposed to look like! She hoped that with her words, Stan would be able to grow old like he should, instead of remaining a hoodie-clad specter with a mullet his entire life. She took a deep breath, deciding she had waited long enough.

“Stan!!” Mabel finally shouted. Stan jumped at the sound of her voice, quickly turning to face her, his bat raised. Once he caught sight of her, however, he immediately dropped the weapon, kneeling down to her level.

“Mabel, what happened to you?!” He asked, cupping her face in his large hands to get a better look at her injuries. That was definitely not the reaction she had expected, and she just stared back at him, wide eyed. This was… Stan. No, this wasn’t _just_ Stan. This was her Grunkle Stan! This was the man who was supposed to watch over her and Dipper for the summer. This was the man they were supposed to spend a summer with, laughing and playing games and going on adventures together. This was the man who was supposed to be family to them, too. She began to tear up a little. This was the man she had desperately wished she had gotten to know as well, and it was nothing short of cruel that she had missed that opportunity.

“Stan…” She said again, backing out of his grasp. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“How can you expect me to do that? Just look at you! Your whole eye is bandaged up!” He paused for a second, actually processing what she had just said. “And what gives? Since when do you just call me Stan? How did you even get here, anyways? Did that shifty spaceman have two time machines or something?”

“Stan, just listen to me.” Mabel said, wiping her good eye with her sweater sleeve. She gazed back up at him, mustering the most courageous, determined glare that she could. “I’m from the future, but not where you’re from. I’m from the future where you go through with… this.” She gestured towards the bat with a grimace.

“Wait, hold up.” Stan interrupted. “You’re telling me that where you’re from, I’m dead?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Mabel nodded sadly. “You’re gone, and me and Dipper spend the summer with Grunkle Ford.”

“Then how did you know about me?” For a moment, Mabel thought he looked a bit… hopeful. “Did Ford… actually talk about me?”

“Well…” As much as Mabel wanted to lie and cheer him up, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She had been lying all month, and she simply couldn’t do it anymore. “No. We had no idea that you even existed.”

“Oh… of course.” Stan said, chuckling bitterly. “Why would I ever think that he’d care enough about me to bring me up? It’d take something worse than death for him to give a-”

“Hey…” Mabel interrupted.

“Let me guess: in that world, everything’s perfect, isn’t it? I bet Ford’s living a happy life without me! He’s probably filthy stinkin’ rich and famous for all his achievements. How many Nobel Peace Prizes does he have, huh? I’m guessing at least two or three! And I bet you and Dipper were happy to spend your summer with your cool, intelligent uncle who’s probably living the perfect, brotherless life he had always wanted!”

“Stan!!” Mabel interrupted, shouting this time. It seemed to be enough to stop Stan’s rant, at least for now. “I’m here because everything’s ruined without you!”

“…What?” Stan asked, clearly skeptical.

“In the world I’m from… everything’s far from perfect. Grunkle Ford is a total shut in! He’s scared of everything, he rarely leaves the house, he refuses to talk to most people… he wouldn’t even let me and Dipper leave the house most of the time! He’s completely miserable without you!”

“Well… so what? Do you really think he’d be better off with me there? Look, the whole being paranoid thing is bad, but at least he’s home, right? Mabel, if I don’t go through with this, Ford will-”

“He’ll end up lost in the portal, right?” Mabel answered. “Stan, I know that’s… scary. It’s scary not knowing whether your brother is safe and okay, but… it’s a better shot than what will happen if you go through with this.” She reached into her skirt pocket, pulling out the bloodstained photograph of Stan and Ford as children. “In my world, Ford… dies.”

“What?!” Stan exclaimed, snatching the photograph from her. “Where…. Where did you get this? What happened to him?!”

“One of Grunkle Ford’s old experiments gets out. He tries to stop it on his own, and by the time Dipper and I get there… it’s too late.” She said, gesturing to the bloody photograph. “Dipper and I try to escape, but we both end up getting really hurt. I managed to escape, but only ‘cause Dipper sacrifices himself.”

“Mabel…” She began tearing up again, and wiped her good eye on her sleeve once more. When she brought her attention back to Stan, he looked much calmer than before… but absolutely heartbroken nonetheless. “Mabel, is this all true?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Mabel said with a nod. “Stan, I know you’re scared of what could happen to Ford in the portal… but it’s not worth it. I know you and Ford don’t get along right now… but he loves you. That photograph was the last thing he held onto when he died. He wouldn’t want you to die, too!”

“Mabel-”

He paused when the two of them heard the sound of a door shutting a few yards away. Mabel’s blood froze; that must be young Stan getting out of his car. Time was running out, and she’d have to convince Stan, if she could. Stan heard the noise too, and strolled a few feet away from Mabel, cautiously peering out from behind the tree.

“Stan, please don’t go through with this. I know you don’t believe it… but your existence will help so many people. Just being around helps Soos, and Wendy and Dipper and me. And I know it’s scary not knowing how Ford’s doing… but you’re so close. I know you’ll be able to get him back!”

They heard footsteps growing closer. From their hiding place, Mabel and Stan could soon see the younger Stan come into view. Mabel gasped at the sight of him: he was identical to the ghost she had befriended the past couple of weeks, except in the flesh. He really did look weary… he wasn’t lying when he said he’d be an easy target. Anyone could tell that the years had been hard on him.

However, Mabel couldn’t dwell on his looks for long; she noticed the Stan by her side hesitating, glancing at the bat still lying on the ground. She stepped forward and grabbed ahold of his hand, hoping that'd stop him from doing anything for now.

“Please don’t…” She said, dropping her voice to a whisper. She looked up at the Great Uncle she so desperately wanted to know, and this time couldn’t bring herself to care about the tears running down her cheeks. “Grunkle Stan… I really, really want to meet you.”

Stan looked at her, then back at the younger Stan, clearly still hesitant. Finally he sighed, and knelt down to her level once more.

“Shoot, kiddo…” He said, a small smile crossing his lips. “I can’t bring myself to say no to my favorite grandniece.”

“Grunkle Stan…!” Mabel beamed, and threw her arms around Stan’s neck, hugging him closely. “Thank you… thank you so, so much!!”

“Eh, don’t thank me.” He said, patting her on the back gently. “Wouldn’t be able to do something like that in front of a kid, anyways.”

“I knew you'd realize how important you are.”

“Uh…” He paused, clearly not expecting that. “Well, I don’t know about that. But one thing I know for sure is that you are. And so is Dipper.” He finally backed out of their hug, and looked Mabel solemnly in the eye. “And I’d do anything to keep you kids out of harm’s way. Even…” He stood up, and gazed at Ford’s house, where the young, paranoid Ford had answered the door for Stan with a crossbow in hand. “Even let this happen to Ford…”

Mabel stood beside him and watched as Ford finally let the younger Stan into his house, and shut the door tightly behind him. She gazed up at the Stan by her side who, despite his decision, still looked rather glum. She reached up and grabbed his hand again.

“You made the right choice,” she said, “I’m sure you’ll be able to bring him back.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because you’re a Pines!” Mabel exclaimed. “And us Pines can do anything we set our minds to!”

“Well, if you say so.” He said with a laugh.

“I know so! I mean one time…” She trailed off when she realized she couldn’t feel his hand in her own anymore. She pulled her arm away and nearly screamed at what she saw. Where her hand should’ve been was instead a bright light that was slowly creeping up her arm.

“Mabel?” Stan exclaimed. “What’s happening?!”

“I don’t know!!” Mabel said, trying her hardest not to panic.

“C’mon, I didn’t give up Ford just so you could disappear!” Stan attempted to hold her arm, but it was fading away quickly.

“Wait, that’s it!” Mabel gasped. “Since you didn’t die… my world’s not going to exist anymore! This is supposed to happen… it’s supposed to…”

“Oh, c’mon! There’s gotta be some way I can help you!”

Her left leg was beginning to disappear now, too. She tried to ignore the panic washing over her, and instead looked back at the incredibly frightened Stan before her.

“Stan, promise me something.” She finally said, trying her hardest to look calm. “Promise you won’t use that time machine to change anything else. Promise me you’ll go back home and keep things the way they were!”

“But-”

“Please, Grunkle Stan!!”

He still looked hesitant, but finally gave in, clutching her remaining hand.

“I promise.”

“Okay.” Mabel began to hyperventilate as she watched more and more of her body disappear. Before she could say anything more, Stan wrapped her in another tight embrace.

“Don’t look.” Stan said firmly. Despite that, Mabel could feel him shaking. “Don’t look, okay? Just hold on to me. It’ll… it’ll be okay. I’m here, pumpkin.”

“O-okay, Grunkle Stan.”

She clung tightly to Grunkle Stan until she finally faded from existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see you space cowboy............................... 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> (i swear this will have a happy ending)


	7. Chapter 7

Mabel awoke with a strangled gasp.

She quickly sat up in bed, trying to catch her breath and articulate her thoughts. All she knew was that she felt scared. But of what…? What happened?

She calmed a little when she felt something warm pressed against her leg. She reached for it in the darkness and found her hand on her beloved, adorable, sleeping pet pig Waddles that she had won earlier today at the fair.

Right.

It was all coming back to her now. She had won the pig and it had been the best thing to ever happen to her in her whole life, and despite fighting with Dipper over a time machine, he had given up his chance at keeping Wendy from dating Robbie so that she could keep Waddles.

Time machine…

For some reason the thought of the time machine and the time traveler they had met earlier made her feel funny. As if she had forgotten something. Maybe Blendin Blandin had shown up in her nightmare? She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on what had happened in her dream. Whatever it was, it had felt _so_ real.

She remembered being cold… freezing, in fact. She was talking to someone, but whom? And about what? She remembered time traveling… Maybe? She wasn’t quite sure.

But one thing was clear to her: something bad had happened. Something horrible, in fact. She remembered that something really bad had happened to Dipper, but she couldn’t place her finger on what. Along with that, someone had died… but whom? She remembered he was older, but his face and his name were escaping her.

She also remembered that Grunkle Stan had died, too.

At that disturbing thought, Mabel became keenly aware that she had been crying, and went to wipe her eyes. However, when she pulled her hand away, she noticed there was a little bit of blood on it.

“Eww, what?” She whispered. She went to check again and just as she expected, her nose was bleeding. Disgusted, she slipped out of bed to go and wash her face off in the bathroom. Before she left the room, however, she strolled over to Dipper’s bed, just to check. Dipper was fast asleep, still in his usual dirty clothes, with a pen and his journal in hand. He looked completely unharmed and peaceful. She smiled at that; she couldn’t quite remember what had happened to Dipper in the dream, but seeing him safe was nice nonetheless.

She strolled down the creaky hall of the Mystery Shack until she finally found the bathroom. She flipped on the lights and sure enough, there was a little blood running from her nose, and her eyes were a bit red and swollen. She soon turned on the water and began to wash her face, trying to ignore the underlying fear she still felt.

“It was just a dream,” she whispered, “it was just a dream, it was just a dream…”

Once she had finished cleaning her face, she headed back into the hall, hoping she could meow herself to sleep like she usually did after a bad dream. However, she hesitated, and soon turned the opposite direction towards the stairs. She knew it was silly, but she wanted to check on Grunkle Stan. He was probably fine, fast asleep downstairs and dreaming up new schemes to scam tourists with, but she wanted to check just in case.

Besides, being silly was in her nature.

She crept downstairs and much to her surprise, she found the light on in the shop. That was strange. If Dipper was already asleep, then it had to be super late! What was Grunkle Stan doing up? She tiptoed into the main room, where she found Grunkle Stan standing beside the vending machine with a lantern in hand. Was he just getting a late night snack? If so, why not use the kitchen instead of paying for it? Unless he was breaking in to his own vending machine. Somehow she didn’t put it past him to do something like that.

“Grunkle Stan?” She asked.

“You didn’t see anything!!!” Grunkle Stan exclaimed, nearly jumping at the sound of her voice. “Oh… it’s just you, Mabel.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah… I thought I heard a raccoon break in. Didn’t want it running around the shop and breaking the merchandise, y’know?”

“That makes sense.”

“What’re you doing up, kiddo? Is that pig keeping you up or something?”

“No, Waddles is an angel.” Mabel said with a sigh. “I just… had a bad dream.”

“Oh, uh...” He hesitated, before kneeling down to her height. “Would it make you feel better if you told me about it?”

“Um…” For some reason, seeing her Grunkle’s concerned face made her heart ache. In her dream, he had been dead. That she knew for a fact. She couldn’t remember what exactly had happened, but she just couldn’t imagine Grunkle Stan not being around anymore. While the two of them certainly had their differences, she loved him, and she was sure he loved her and Dipper unconditionally as well. The thought of both of them being gone was simply terrible, and she could feel her eyes growing watery again. “I don’t remember everything that happened, but… I think Dipper got really hurt! A-and I think it might’ve been my fault! Someone else had died, but I can’t remember who it was… b-but you were dead, Grunkle Stan! That I know for sure!”

“W-whoa, calm down Mabel,” Stan said, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m right here, see? I’m fine.”

“I-I know.” Mabel sniffled, wiping her eyes on her pajama sleeve. “It just felt so real. I think I had to go back in time to save you or something, and I can’t remember if I was able to or not…!”

“Now, kiddo. Don’t worry yourself about that, okay?” Stan said. “I’m perfectly fine. And even if that had happened, I have no doubt that you would’ve been able to save me.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because you’re a Pines! Nah, scratch that. You’re Mabel Pines! And I’m sure you can do anything you set your mind to!”

For some reason those words sounded familiar, but Mabel couldn’t quite place where she had heard them. Regardless, they were still nice to hear, and she reached out and hugged Grunkle Stan tightly.

“Thank you, Grunkle Stan.”

“Don’t worry about it, pumpkin.” Stan replied, patting her back gently.

Mabel just held him tight for a while, content to hear his heartbeat: a sure sign that he was alive.

“Look, Mabel,” Stan finally said after he had pulled away, “it’s getting pretty late. Think you’ll be able to sleep now?”

“I… I don’t know.” She replied nervously.

“Eh, that’s fine.” He looked at her, a smile forming on his lips. “Y’know, all the funny stuff is on this late. Wanna marathon some really bad horror movies with me?”

“Sure, Grunkle Stan.” She said, smiling as well.

“All right. You go get settled on the couch while I make us some popcorn. Sound good?”

“Okay!” She exclaimed, and quickly headed towards the living room. Just as promised, Stan headed towards the kitchen, and put some popcorn in the microwave, hoping it wouldn’t be loud enough to wake Dipper. Normally he wouldn’t make a snack this loud this late at night, but he needed to be apart from Mabel for a second to gather his thoughts.

Mabel’s apparent dream had been… disturbing, to say the least. And just when he thought today couldn’t get any weirder. First there was the time traveler, then his trip back to 1982…

And that other Mabel. The Mabel that had been horribly injured, the Mabel who had suffered through who knew what kind of trauma…

The Mabel who had pleaded so desperately with him to not go through with his plans.

Stan couldn’t help but dwell on her. That Mabel had come from a separate universe where he had died and Ford had remained in Gravity Falls. Despite what she had said, Stan couldn’t help but feel like that was still a better alternative to this universe. However, he seriously doubted that that Mabel was lying; and this crummy world was much better than one where Ford was dead, Dipper was gone and Mabel was severely traumatized. Listening to that Mabel had probably been for the best… right?

He still couldn’t help but worry about it. Especially that Mabel. He could still vividly remember holding her in his arms while she wept, terrified as she began to vanish into… what, exactly? Stan wished Ford was here; he probably knew enough about time travel and multiverses to know. Was she dead? Or was it a fate different than death? Or worse than death?

All Stan knew for sure was that he never wanted to see Mabel that scared or hurt ever again. And if that meant leaving Ford’s fate ambiguous… then so be it. He would just have to make that other Mabel proud and bring Ford back without the use of time travel. He was getting close, after all. All he needed was Ford’s other journals.

And by that logic, he was about as close now as he was thirty years ago.

The microwave beeped and Stan tried to think about something else.

He returned to the living room, where he found Mabel seated comfortably on the couch, her usual smile thankfully back on her face. He sat down beside her and switched on the T.V., and the two began to watch a terrible horror movie, with special effects and acting so bad it had them laughing pretty quickly. The two didn’t talk to each other for the most part, happy to just spend time in one another’s company. If he was honest, Stan was only half-focusing on the film. He just couldn’t keep his mind off of the other Mabel he had seen today, and the completely distorted world she had come from.

That… and selfishly, he couldn’t help but think about what she had told him. Specifically that she wanted to meet him. Despite everything that had happened to her and her timeline, she had made sure to tell him just how much he was missed and wanted, despite her likely knowing very little about him. He wondered, glumly, if she would’ve been disappointed if she knew more about him. Then again, it was unlike Mabel to be disappointed in anyone.

Still, it was strange to hear that he had been wanted. He gazed at his grandniece happily watching the film and couldn’t help but be thankful that he had heeded the other Mabel’s warning. This Mabel was moved to tears just seeing him all right after a nightmare… that was more than he had expected from anyone at this point, especially from his own family. When was the last time someone had told him how happy they were to see him? When was the last time he had been told that he was wanted, loved, or needed by someone else? Had there ever really been a time before now?

“Say, Mabel?” Stan said abruptly, quickly getting her attention. “I’m… really glad that I met you.”

She looked confused for a moment, but that confusion soon turned into a large, typical of Mabel smile.

“Me too, Grunkle Stan.”

The two of them continued watching mediocre horror movies until Mabel finally drifted off to sleep, leaning against Stan’s arm. Normally, Stan would’ve moved and hoped that she’d stay asleep, but he decided to sit there and let her rest against him, figuring it was the least he could do considering what she had been though. Kind of. Besides, this couch certainly wasn’t the most uncomfortable place he had spent a night. And, he supposed, it beat being dead in the bitter snow that plagued Gravity Falls each winter.

He soon fell asleep too, for the first time in years thinking about how content he was to be alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we've come full circle. Happily ever after, I guess? At least for this universe. 
> 
> I dont really have much to say other than thanks to you all for sticking with this story! This is honestly just an idea I came up with out of the blue and decided to write in between working on other fics. I didn't expect so many people to grow attached. It was fun, and all the positive reactions to this mean a ton to me!


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